Warchild
by Blade 42
Summary: the final battle of Hinata is waged and the fate of Japan decided. the battle is ending and the surivors are fighting to stay just that.Will any of the Hinata residents see the furitation of there work, or even understand why? Ch 12 is up. please Read & R
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina or the particular characters involved, they are the property of TV Tokyo. The story and alter ego Blade is mine on the other hand. ( HA in your face TV Tokyo) .

AN: Well this is my very first publishing of any of my work anywhere. So please be gentle with the reviews. anyway for all of you reading this thanks, and a warning to all you reviewers, my spelling sucks. S-U-C-K-S. if you find something that I or my various grammar checkers have missed, especially the Japanese terms please tell me, I can't fix what I don't know is wrong.

Secondly, I'll be focusing on Blade until the story really picks up, so bear with me.

and before I forget Kitsune translates into fox… I think.

Well so much for my babbling, on with the show.

BLADE

CH1

MEMORIES

The mortar rounds fell thicker than snow in a blizzard, and the gun fire had picked up to the point that it was impossible to pick out individual rounds. The field was laden with corpses and mangled tree stumps . The ground had been pounded to such an extent that large sections of it was turned into powder. This was the sort of place that people picture on the other side of hell. The dead and dieing littered the battlefield, and in the bombed out craters their still living comrades fought for their lives. In one such crater a young man grappled with his opponent before thrusting his dagger into his enemy and jerking upwards, killing him instantly. The young man then reclaimed his assault rifle off the ground, that had his named craved into the stock, Blade. He checked the barrel of his rifle for blockage, and went into a prone position at the edge of the creator taking as much cover as possible.

Blade was no older than 16 although he didn't show it unless you were in conversation range. His body was hard and loaded with scars from spending the better part of his teenage years in constant warfare. He had a deep farmers tan that only exaggerating the scars on his arms. His hair although not even 20, had white specks in his brown hair. His eyes were a matching hazel. His face was drawn, and after being in combat for so long held as much emotion over the man he just killed as a granite statue.

Blade heard a whimper from the only other person sharing this little niche of hell with him. She was a well figured young woman with silver hair in a shorter haircut. Come to think of it he used the term " young woman" rather loosely because she was about 6-7 years older than Blade. She had come with a group of photo journalists for the war. Her name was Mitsune, but she said her friends called her Kitsune, No wonder. She had the eyes of one. Kitsune had shown up there with the same sense of anti-reality that most of the new recruits did. A few days of combat had quickly squashed with. Those first few days Blade was for all intensive proposes a walking tissue carrying a rifle.

"you'll never take any pictures down their." Blade said to Kitsune.

" It's safer here though." she answered. Flipping over to her stomach and crawling up to the lip, peering over it cautiously. She brought her camera up and started taking a rapid series of pictures of the carnage.

" Wow." was the only thing the normally talkative fox could say.

" Ya, it is pretty bad," Blade answered. He then leaned into his rifle and squeezed off several rounds at an far off enemy.

"OH Shit!!" Blade yelled, grabbing for his radio.

"We're being flanked!" he yelled into it, promptly dropping it. Blade toggled his rifle's selector to full auto and emptied an entire clip at the mass of solders 200 ft to his right. He then leaped deeper into the creator to reload. Face down in the dirt and changing clips, Blade never saw the incoming grenade till it was far too late.

Blade woke with a jolt and nearly fell out of his train seat. His breath was heavy for several minutes as he tried to calm himself and tried to ignore the looks he was getting. The train stopped and Blade scurried off the train, he was 2 stops early and he had a three mile walk through back alleys to get back to the Hinata apartments. Right now, he didn't care he was just happy to be off of the train.

Blade walked down the bricken alleyway lost in his own memories. As he listened to his footsteps fade into entirety.

"How long have I been out? Six months? …Noo, a little more. Today's the 12th of September." he thought to himself. "Seems like only yesterday I was still in combat with the Reapers." Blade's forehead wrinkled as he drifted into deeper thought.

Five months ago a 2 ½ year war ended that is called the genetics war. It was called that due to the fact that the rebel commander named Maxim was trying to make an army of genetically engineered cloned soldiers, fortunately, he failed. But that didn't stop him from raising an army by other means. Namely conscription and child soldiery

That is where the Reapers come in. The unit was a child soldiers unit where no person involved with exception of the higher officers where over the age of 16 and an average age of 14. The unit began the scourge of the battlefield, turning into a very effective fighting unit. They became the military idealism, not an bunch of babbling individuals but a cohesive unit. Where the man next to you wasn't just your friend but your comrade and family. Then fortunately or unfortunately depending on your view, one day the Reapers was surrounded by a Japanese division. The commanding officer surrendered saying.

"I may be hard-ass but I will not kill this boys defending that cowardly pants pissing general.

Once within the Japanese ranks they were treated with kindness and understanding. Something that to most of these children these were concepts that were little more than memories to them. For the better part of two years all they had were their skills and their comrades standing beside them. The Reapers have always said amongst them selves that they didn't jump ship they came home. Which was passable because 90% of the unit were the children of tourists. Anyway the Reapers fought under Japanese command for the last remaining month of the war.

After the genetics war ended Blade, as well as the rest of the Reapers didn't have any place to go to. So the Japanese government gave the misfit's a citizenship and put them into an adoption program.

Kitsune then enters the picture. After being with the Reapers for the last three weeks of the war as a journalist, and Blade was her chaperon so to speak, for that time. Over those few weeks the pair had grown a relation ship that came to rival that he had with his comrades. When Kitsune found that Blade was in need of a guardian as well as a home, she quickly brought him in.

Not that I need to say this but this didn't go over too well with most of the residents, but thanks to one very passionate speech, a few words from ketaro, and a general feeling of sympathy. The residents of Hinatasou bent their no male tenets rule again. And well here he was.

Blade came to a crossing of two alleys he had to cross on his way home, he found it filled with young boys and girls with a few nuns. He chuckled, how those few women took care of those 20-30 little kids for the day with out ripping out their hair took the patience of a saint. He decided they probably were. With Blade's background they were the only people in the area who welcomed him with remotely open arms, besides Keitaro, Kitsune and Shinobu. So he volunteered a few days a month to say thanks.

The nuns had finally regained order and began to get all the girls to the local playground. Blade watched them file by and chuckled again, most of them where all dressed up in dress skirts and hair bows. "Was I ever that innocent?" he thought to himself.

" Probably not." he said aloud a little louder than he meant to.

" Pervert." said a 30ish woman was in the gathering crowd waiting for the children to pass.

" uh??" Blade said looking at the woman while his brain shifted gears to understand the comment.

" Your sick lady." he said when finally got it. She was about to argue the point when a shout came from the direction of the day care.

" Sister!!!" Both of them turned in time to see a straggler from the Daycare with brown ponytail and a navy blue dress do a face plant into the concert.

Blade sighed heavily and walked over to her. Placing his bag down and crouching to pick her off the ground. Blade placed her on her feet and started to brush her off.

" Do you ever stay on your own two feet?" He said with a hint of mock announce.

" mummy sais I gots gamies feeets." she said in a cheeriness that wouldn't have given away the fact she had just done a swan dive into the ground.

" And you have chocolate all over your face!" He said licking his thumb to wash it off. " your messer that I am." he finished cleaning her up enough for a passing inspection before saying.

" That's everything, run along now Amy."

" tank you Bwade." Amy answered and ran off after the vanishing group. As Amy disappeared around the corner, Blade turned to retrieve his bag and saw the woman he was arguing with earlier watching the troop of disappearing children dumbfounded.

" If you look for the worst interpretations for everything, you'll never get anywhere in life." He said turning to leave.

As Blade crested the stairs that lead to Hinata, he saw Matoko looking at one of the building's upper floors. He walked up to her, somewhat apprehensively, before coming to a stop beside her and fallowing her eyes as he set his bag down. He saw on one the second story balconies that Keitaro and Naru were fighting over something.

" Their at it again, Uhh?" he said as neutrally as possible.

" Yes they are." she replied with the same mount of emotion. Blade glanced at her moving his head as little as he could. she was in her usual red and white kimono, although she was wearing it quite a bit less as of late.

" You might want to get that in the next size up, your starting to lose that masculine appearance your trying to hold on to."

A flash of anger ran though Matoko, her hand flew to her Kanata as she turned to face Blade. But she stopped in mid turn. What she saw before her was a young man standing at a military parade rest watching the verbal assaults wirily, almost with annoyance, but there was something there that stopped her. It was subtle, barley there but there none the less. It was… fear. No, regret maybe? No that wasn't it either. She'd seen practically all the emotions the residents of the Hintasou could throw at her. From Shinobu's massive mood swings, Su's childlike clueless ness, Naru's rage, Ketaro's Depressions, Kitusne's drunken depressions, and the few emotions' she had seen on the unreadable Huruka. This on the other hand was…Matoko trailed off into her thoughts trying to identify what it was she saw.

She was brought back to reality by the sound of fist meeting skull, as Ketaro was launched into a low orbit. As Blade and Matoko watched Ketaro leave via sever blunt concussion to the chin, Naru leaped over the railing to join the pair on the ground to watch her handy work.

(AN: pun intended)

As the trio watched the flying speck that was Ketaro vanish into the blue sky. Blade said in a Zen like voice.

"What do you do if you live in a shoe and you ain't got no soul?"

" Umm? Did I miss something?" Naru said, fairly confused.

" Not really," Blade replied in a kind of bored voice.

"If you get it, you get it. You don't you don't."

Matoko turned to face Blade again only to find him looking depressingly over her shoulder. She turned and saw Shinobu looking dreamily at a photograph in her hand, a new crush or probably Keitaro. Naru finally noticed the change of focus in the two beside her and followed their eyes to rest on shyest resident of Hinata. She then turned to look angrily at Blade thinking

" If he says one word I'll…." (AN: my original comment was decided too violent

there-for I will ask you to fill in your own blank.")

All Blade did though was sigh, pick up his bag and turn to leave with a last longing look. As he turned he said,

"I can't get ahead in this damn rat race." and with that he left, his head obviously drooped.

" He is a strange boy…" Naru was softly cut off by Matoko saying.

" He's is no boy, He's …." she trailed off, unable to find the right words for the young man depressingly walking for the Hinatasou door.

AN: Well what did you think????

Cricket: chirp chirp crunch.

AN: (grounding offending insect into ground) Stupid bug. Anyway, please review. I what to know what other people besides my friends think. Even constructive flames are welcome.

Thanks.


	2. Worlds

Disclaimer- same as earlier chapter so I'm not going to repeat myself.

AN: hey I got this chap up in under a week. I'm very proud for myself, I'm normally a very lazy typist. Anyway everything from earlier still applies. My spelling and grammar is just sad so if you find a mistake please tell me.

Oh, and to whoever brought it up I'm not sure if it's spelled Motoko or Matoko. I'm gonna spell it your way simply because it looks closer.

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BLADE

CH2

WORLDS

Blade leaned on the deck banister looking out toward the sea. A breeze came in off of the ocean blowing his opened button down shirt behind him like a cape. Filling his nostrils with the salt smell. Blade exhaled heavily as he watched the sun set over the water and listened to the seagulls squabble over food. The scene was definitely helping his mood, however he was still pretty sour though.

"That was, the stupidest thing I have ever done, … right after trying to fast rope in sandals. I still have scars from that particular adventure." he thought to himself. His mind then went over his most recent encounter with Shinobu in his head.

"What the hell did I say wrong?" he asked the setting sun.

"Probably nothing at all." said a male voice behind him. Blade yelled in frustration and slammed his fist down on the railing, dislodging an entire four foot section from the deck which tumbled towards the ground. Blade took a step to the left to find some more railing to lean on, saying nothing more than

"oops."

Kotare walked up beside Blade leaning on the railing as well.

"Every body's out looking for you." he said "You really threw us for a loop doubling back like that." he said, laughing.

" I was trying to lose you." Blade responded halting Keitaro's laughter like a red light. There was a moment of silence before Keitaro worked up the courage to continue the conversation.

"Asked Shinobu out huh?" he asked rhetorically.

" You know? I thought that was my little secret." Blade answered as sarcastically as he could.

"Sounds like you got shot down." Keitaro said almost in a whisper.

"I wasn't shot down." Blade said angrily. " I was nuked in midair." Keitaro then snorted loudly trying desperately not to laugh.

" I know the feeling." Keitaro managed to get out.

"Yeah. no doubt there." Blade responded. "but I'll take nuked over atomic punched anytime." Keitaro nodded in agreement and looked out towards the setting sun.

" I have to admit," Keitaro spoke towards the sun. " I would never guess that would happen when you first got here."

"Neither did I." Blade said suddenly overcome with a fit of laughter. "Remember how I first meet Shinobu and Matoko?" he asked trying not to double over.

"Yes I do, not the best way to meet a pervert hunting fanatic." curling over with his own laughter.

_FlashBack_

" Keitaro I don't care if your fixing the hot spring." Matoko shouted angrily pushing Ketaro towards the hot spring door, dressed in the customary fluffy pink towel. " Shinobu and me have had a long day would like to use the hot spring."

In the hot spring, Shinobu sat resting against a at the edge of the pool, letting her tired muscles be massaged by the warm water. Her towel a good three feet away. As she sat there in the center of the hot spring, Blade's head emerged from under the water.

" hey Keitaro I found the…. Problem." Blade swiveled in the water searching of his apartment manager. " Ketaro?" as he turned around in the water, Blades eyes came to rest on Shinobu, sitting the hot springs, bare ass. Blade having spent most of his maturing years in a coed combat unit, didn't bat an eye. He regarded her for a moment and then went back to getting the hot springs fixed. As Blade returned to the depths of the hot springs, Shinobu got over the shock of having stranger suddenly appear in her bath water, and let out a banshee. Matoko heard this and ran out with her sword drawn with Ketaro in tow trying to get her to listen. Now Blade proved himself to have a grand sense of timing as he resurfaced with a pair of white, rust and grease stained panties in his right hand.

" Keitaro these were…." that was as far as Blade got because Matoko recognized the garment in question as her own and went into PAM (pervert assassination mode) and attacked. Matoko charged at Blade with her sword in mid swing. Blade leap out of the way clearing the water and planting his hands on a pool side rock completed a back flip with a half twist to land facing his opponent. Blade unshieved a 6 in combat knife from it's back holster. Matoko regarded her opponent more wirily after his maneuver. Matoko also thought it rather odd that although the boy had been submerged in the hot spring he still had his pants even if he was bare foot and without a shirt. With all of this happening Keitaro was desperately trying to stop the fight without getting himself killed. This behavior was typical of Matoko but Blade was an unknown factor, He was afeard that Blade would be harmed. He looked up and saw Matoko wind up for her well known air splitting sword technique. Matoko attack lending her attack toward Blade. "Got him." she though happily, till Blade sidestepped her attack. Blade then sensed his opponent was off-balance charged.

"SHIT!!" Matoko screamed bring her sword across horizontally to defend herself. Blade had expected this and seeing Matoko scrambled to bring her weapon to bear, Blade had expected this, he missed his next stride rolling with his momentum under Matoko's sword coming up behind her. Blade slashed Matoko's right shoulder causing her to drop her Kanata, followed by Blade kicking out Matoko's knees and finally bring his dagger to her thought.

" Do you yield?" her growled in her ear.

Matoko growled in defiance.

" You let her go right now!" Shinobu screamed, throwing a wooden wash pail at Blade. Now beyond the fact that this was massively out of character for Shinobu, this distracted Blade enough that Matoko attempted a swift kick to the groin. Fortunately Blade managed to block this with the inside of his knee, but he had to release Matoko to do it. Matoko picked up her Katana sprinted towards the wall about 20 feet away placed her feet on the wall and leap off flying at Blade like a kamikaze and releasing a second air splitting sword using her body's rotation to give it twice the force. As the ki energy bore down on Blade a series of a reflexes kicked in, he crossed his arms over his face braced his feet parallel to the incoming attack and limbered himself in preparation for the impact. The attack broke upon Blade like a tsunami over a beach. The dust cleared to show Blade somewhat battered but still standing. He swatted the still air born Matoko down with a quick left jab. Being fairly certain that the crazy-sword-woman would not be presenting any immediate threat Blade went back to business.

" where was I… a yes. That" he said pointing at the white panties now floating in the middle of the hot spring. " was clogging the intake valve, so the water wasn't draining, which is why it overflowed this morning." without a hint in his voice that he had just defeated a master swordswoman in about 45 seconds.

"Now if there is nothing else, I'll be going." Blade finished disappearing out the laundry room door. Keitaro stood fix in place looking at the spot Blade had just stood with one thought in his mind "Who the hell is this guy?!?"

end flashback

"That definitely counts as something that wasn't funny then but sure is now." Blade said finally standing up without any snorts or tremors.

"No argument here." Blade responded looking back out over the city, his smile slowly disappearing from his face.

The 2 young men listened to a group of birds chittering in a nearby tree. Blade turned around resting his elbows on the railing, staring at the red Hinata roof.

"So what's bothering you?" Keitaro asked noticing his friends disposition.

"What makes you think something's wrong, I mean besides this afternoon?" trying to sidestep the question.

"Because, everyone comes up here for different reasons," Keitaro countered. " Matoko to practice, Shinobu to reminisce, Naru and I for umm… personal reasons." Blade smirked at Ketaros minor embarrassment. "And you, you come up here to think."

"Reflect is a better chose of words." Blade contradicted. "But I get the sentiment."

" Fine reflect." Keitaro said slightly hurt. When Blade didn't respond Keitaro looked over at him. While Blade's face was permanently set in a perpetual frown, his eyes proved, if nothing else that the eyes are the windows into ones. Blades eyes showed all the emotions of a typical 16 years old crossed with that of Ketaro's grandfather, a world war two veteran. Right now Blade reminded Keitaro of a cross between His half drunk, overly depressed Grandfather and Naru immediately after that shower incident with Mutsumi.

"So you going to tell me what's wrong?" Keitaro asked trying to force an answer out of his tenet.

"Curiosity killed the cat you know." Blade reposed threateningly. Then he sighed in defeat a moment later.

"The grind of day to day life out here is just turning me into a fine powder I guess." Blade answered truthfully " I'm starting to wish I was still with the Reapers, because no matter how bad it got with them there was always a shoulder to lean on. Normally several."

"We're here." Keitaro said quickly trying to defend everyone.

"Don't get me wrong, you're all good friends." Blade said trying to calm his friend. "But compared to the Reapers you guys are about as steady as a gust of wind." He finished, carefully choosing his words.

"There for a moment and then gone." Keitaro muttered understanding what Blade was getting at.

" I don't mean to insult you but…" Blade was cut off buy from a returning Naru below.

" Hey! We've been all over town looking for you!" She yelled up at Blade angrily marching towards the door with the rest of the Hinata crew close behind, all of which looked beat. With the exceptions of Naru who was just pissed and Su who was jumping about like a nuclear powered bouncy ball. Keitaro watched Naru enter the house with a look of love and contentment on his face. Blade watch Ketaro's expression change and a smile spread across his normally sober face, as he thought of happy times.

" What?" Keitaro asked with a smile the surpassed each ear.

"Nothing." Blade responded. "You just remind me of something my mother used to say. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."

"Too true, but I've heard that war is a love affair with the Grim Reaper." Keitaro countered.

" Bullshit." Blade answered his chest rolling in laughter again. " I've been in combat for over 2 years and I only got laid once!" He finished on a high note.

Ketaros face showed a meteoric understanding as he slowly shook his head.

"Have faith Blade." Keitaro said after Blade recomposed himself "Your world will show it's self sooner of later."

"I already belong to one." Blade responded sinking into a deeper depression than he started with. " I belong to the valley of the shadow of death, where the Shepard does not walk." Blade thrust his hands into his pockets sighing heavily. "I belong to the dark shadows of humanity that you fear so much." He then walked down the stairs leading into the house without another word.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Keitaro said chasing after Blade, catching up to him in the main lobby as the other residents entered the inn.

"For a walk. The river side is beautiful this time of night…" With that he disappeared out the door into the fading light.

" Blade you get back here! I've got a bon…" Naru began but was cut off by Keitaro placing a hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough Naru." Keitaro said uncharacteristically blunt. "He doesn't need us adding anymore weight to his shoulders. The poor kid does even feel like he's human any more.

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That's it for now. Please review

And again thanks.


	3. Favors

DISCLAIMER: Same as before. It's the same story so whats the point in repeating myself?

Hey, it's me Blade42 again, I finally got CH3 finished, (well duh your reading it.)

Anyway, thanks to all of you who reviewed, the **4** of you. You were all a big help in writing this chapter, and to Reiz ( I think I spelled that right), thank you for pointing out that character flaw, I think I got it some-what fixed in this chapter.

This is to all readers, I just realized I never gave a time frame for this story. This is based on the Anime up to the spring movie, because I have not seen past that point in the story. The year in this tale is 2002-2004 haven't decided on a exact date yet. This would place Su and Shinobu in 10th grade and all the other characters respectably a few years older. Sorry I should have pointed this out earlier, the intended story line probably wouldn't work with a 13 year old girl.

For the record I'm going to include a BY line from now on because I just realized I wasn't giving credit to my friend & editor.

BY: Bryant Nykiel

Editor: David Riley

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BLADE

CH3 FAVORS

Gunfire raged as Blade charged across a foggy field with no beginning and no end. His soldiers, the Reapers, were running alongside because of his orders, his actions. He stopped to urge them on, but they were all dead, every last one. Blade stood there shocked, unable to comprehend. As he watched the bodies torn and mangled sunk beneath the ground and tombstones took their place. All of them having the same thing carved on their faces, "You killed me."

"NO!" Blade screamed denying it. "They did!" he yelled pointing at the unseen enemy. The tombs didn't change or comment. Blade's pointing hand faltered, odd, they felt wet. Blade looked at his hands. They were covered in blood , the blood of his dead. His hands itched they burned, the blood ran off his hands reveling hands that were not his own, they were a demon's hands. They were covered in pointed claws and armored making every inch into a weapon. They were hands from the plains of war.

Blade bolted straight up in his futon, pulling his pistol from under his pillow and firing a single round into the depths of the night. He realized what he held, dropping it. He scurried away from it across the room he shared with Kitsune on all fours until he hit a wall, knocking over a coffee table and several empty bottles of sake in the process. He curled up against the wall shaking and breathing so heavily a deaf man could have found him.

"Blade?" called Kitsune,

"Blade." she called once more into the darkness more concerned after not getting an answer. She took a guess and put a hand where she guessed Blade to be. Kitsune put her hand on Blade's neck which was batted away. Kitsune slid her back down the wall, sitting next to the cowering child. Kitsune wrapped her arms around Blade pulling him in against her body. Blade tensed up until he caught Kitsune's scent. It reminded Blade of a cross between an apple blossom, ink, and sake in varying degrees depending on what she's been doing.   
"Shhh, it was only a dream Jason." Kitsune said using Blade's real name.

"It is no dream, it is true." Blade said, resting his head on Kristine's shoulder. He cried silently into it, the tears soaking her bare shoulder. Kitsune was lost on this one, these nightmares, though normally not this bad were a nightly occurrence. She thought about while rocking Blade slowly. Her mind settled on a song that seemed ironically appropriate at the moment, she softly sang to him as best she could.

Go stop your crying it will be alright

Just take my hand hold it tight

I will protect you from all around you

I will be hear don't you cry

For one so small

You seem so strong

My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm

This bond between use can't be broken

I will be here don't you cry…

Kitsune stopped singing as their was no point, Blade had dosed off and was breathing evenly. Kitsune laid her head on top of Blade's and closed her eyes.

" poor boy." she whispered into the dark as she fell asleep.

Blade pressed himself against the wall, rolling his head to see into the dinning room that contained Shinobu and one very red Keitaro.

"Ummm, thanks Shinobu but what's the occasion." Keitaro asked looking around on edge, he rejected this kind attention, because if, no when this got out he was Dead with a capital D.

"Just for cleaning the hot springs." she answered placing a specially prepared meal in front of Keitaro.

"Blade does help you know." Keitaro said trying to find a covert way out of this situation.

" Thank you, it's nice to get some recognition around here." Blade muttered under his breath. He squinted his eyes to better view the pair, saying aloud. " it's a wonder that Naru doesn't smack him around more often."

"For what?" said a very agitated voice to his left.

"Crap." Blade said turning his head to face Naru, his hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar. Unable to explain himself Blade whistled as innocently as possible and edged away from the door. Naru stormed past Blade into the dining room. Blade leaned over to look into the room, just in time to see Naru scream

"You perv, she's barely in 10th grade!", and wind up to send Keitaro in Blade's general direction.

"Fire in the hole!" Blade yelped leaping out of the way of the KLVN ( Keitaro launched via Naru) missile and covering his head as soon as he reached the floor. Keitaro came flying though the wall, ricochet off of the stair's banister, sending him into Motoko's room, who in turn smacked him downward through the floor, and finally (for some reason still not understood) bounced off the hardwood floor and then skyward making a new skylight on his way out.

"Okay." Blade said to himself looking at the decent sized hole in the roof as he brushed debris out of his hair. As Blade debated if the hole in the roof needed immediate attention or if it could wait, one very distrait Shinobu came out of the dining room.

" Hey umm… Shinobu?" Blade stammered.

"Yes?" Shinobu answered in a distantly polite tone. Which coming from Shinobu was as good as "what the hell do **you** want."

"N-n-ne-never mind." Blade stuttered walking towards the door, disheartened. Why the hell do I get lock jaw every time I try to speak to her? Blade asked himself. Blade glanced down at his watch. 11, time to go, he had people to meet. Blade nearly got to the door before Kistune, coming down the stairs, spoke up.

"Where are you going." she called after him.

" I got places to go and people to meet." he said, stopping to straighten the collar of his navy blue polo and smoothing a few wrinkles in his matching colored jeans.

"People as in Reapers and places as in bars." Kitsune countered.

"Maybe." Blade said rolling his eyes skyward. Kistune sighed and worked her face into a disapproving frown. Very few of Blade's former unit were in the area, they were basically the only people who could really understand him, most of them did go drinking though when they gathered though various legal and illegal means. Kitsune really didn't like Blade drinking this young but who was she to call the kettle black.

"You need money for a cab home?" she asked finally giving up on stopping the kid.

"No, I'm set Kitsune." he answered.

"When are you getting back?" Kitsune continued

"Sometime between 10 minutes from now and next week." Blade answered sarcastically. Finishing his walk out the door.

"See ya!" he called over his shoulder.

"That kid's changed you Kitsune." Naru said walking up to her friend. " you've become much more motherly and responsible." She finished watching Blade disappear.

Kitsune shrugged in response.

"It happens." she said. " I just want the kid to have a chance at leading a normal life, it might be to late thought." Kitsune placed her hand over her mouth in thought, " if he grows…"

"Grows?" Naru cut her off.

"Stays scared of himself." Kitsune finished grimly.

"Scared of himself, how on earth can do that?" Naru asked

"Not scared per-say but,…. How do I say this?" Kitsune asked herself.

"Have seen Ruroni Kenshin?" Kitsune asked thinking she found a parallel.

"No, and what does an anime have to do with this?" Naru said puzzled.

" well Keitaro pointed this out, in the movie there's a man that "would be worthless if weren't for his consort. She serves as his sheath, shielding him from his inner-self and the demons it houses." Kitsune explained.

" I think he needs a little bit more than a sheath." Shinobu said entering the room after cleaning up her impromptu brunch.

" you're right, he needs a leash and a hand to hold as well." Kitsune said, quickly stopping Naru's retort, watching Shinobu leave the room, heading towards the hot spring. Kitsune and Naru waited till Shinobu was safely out of the room before continuing.

"You think she could serve those proposes Kitsune?" Naru asked.

"Maybe, but right now I'm just trying to get her to accept him as a human being not some heartless murder. It hurts him more that his memories."

" She always did seem kind cold to Blade." Naru thought-spoke raking her brain for examples.

"Wait." Naru said dawning on a revelation. "This sounds like something I've seen before Mitsune." remembering the numerous times Kistune had thrown some hairball schemes to trying to get her a Keitaro together. They worked in the end but that was beside the point.

" I'm not trying to get Blade a girlfriend Naru." Kitsune snorted pointing out the subtle difference in the situations. "I'm just trying to make his life a little easier."

Naru nodded in silent agreement, deciding there was nothing below her words but their face value.

"Blade is a wizard on the battlefield, but beyond these walls, he barely functions in general society. The less grief he gets from us the better. Actually," Kitsune said looking up at the newly acquired skylight. "Keitaro's been a big help, just being there to talk to on a guy to guy level."

" yeah." Naru said kind of regretting sending Keitaro into the stratosphere. "Well if there is anything I can do." Naru said moving up the stairs

"Umm, actually Naru I need to ask a favor."

Blade stood in a military parade rest as he watched a group of kids (from the nun run daycare) run and play around some playground equipment. He had volunteered his time to help when they needed it, as a thank you for being so hospitable when he first came to Hinata hot springs. As usual, he lent a hand on the occasional trips to the big playground towards the center of town. When the nuns asked him to "help keep an eye on the kids" Blade's brain for some reason couldn't get around the idea of an escort mission. Which lead to very aqward moment when he showed up for his first trip, decked out in riot armor with a 6 gallon tank of pepper spray strapped to his back. He had been talked out of most of his equipment but, his combat knife and berretta 92F were nonnegotiable. The day had been easy so far, all he had to do was settle a few turn issues, and rescue a boy that ran out of gas half way across the monkey bars, who then tried to go over them. Being a sort of hands off kind of person Blade was more than content to leave the energetic little bundles to their own devices. That was until he felt a small hand grab his middle and trigger finger and tug gently.

" Bwade will you pway with me?" Ami asked looking up a Blade with those big questing eyes every young child posses.

" Sure Ami." Blade said allowing himself to be dragged towards the sandbox by an 7 year old. Blade spent about 40 minutes playing in the sand with the youngster before deciding he'd had enough for now and brushed his hands off.

" well well well." said a male voice behind Blade, " I never thought I'd ever see the day a child brought Blade the terror of the Reapers to his knees." Blade calmly stood up saying

" I wouldn't say terror…" He brushed himself off turning to face the young man before him. If not for the dirty blond hair with spiky bangs and the slight height difference people would have mistaken the pair for twins. They were dressed nearly identically, in matching navy blue shirt and pants. He had the same general build as Blade. Besides the hair the only other major differences between the to men was that the blond had a scar cutting his left eye brow in half and most importantly, a kind smile in place of Blade's permanent frown.

"Hey Rossy." Blade said hugging his friend in a manly fashion. ( I know how that sounds but I couldn't get it to sound any better)

"How's the arm?" Blade asked.

"It's healing." Rossy answered rotating his right shoulder in a circle causing a series of audible cracks. Blade began to say "It happens", but was cut by a loud

" JAYJAY!" and was knocked off balance by a young woman a little older than him jumping into him wrapping her arms and legs around him and squeezing tightly.

" Nice to see you too, Jennifer." Blade said trying to regain his balance with his one available arm, his other being pinned under Jenn's torso. Jenn released Blade and turned on Ross with similar affects. Jenn was in a sleeveless red dress with beaded flowers on the front and side slits that went up to her knees. She was wearing black sandals that complimented the dress and matched her hair. Jenn was relatively unscarred compared to her companions. The only evidence of injury she bore was a miss toe on her left foot from a "toepopper" land mine, and shiny skin on her right palm from trying to change out a hot barrel on a mounted machinegun.

"How's the arm?" Jenn asked Rossy

"Alright." Rossy responded.

"You never did explain how you broke it." Jenn said factually.

"Well…" Rossy said " lets just say it wasn't one of our brightest ideas."

"Wellll." Jenn said questioning.

"We tried to shoot skeet with an M-60." Rossy admitted.

"And this idiot," Blade said jabbing a thumb at Ross "Tried to do it one handed!" Blade laughed out.

"You dumbass!" she said lightly punching Rossy in the chest. "And how have you been Jayjay?"

"First off, call me Blade, and second I've been fine."

"Fine?" Jenn said ignoring Blades first complaint. "The last time you said that was when you broke your arm." Jenn finished flatly.

"It was a minor fracture." Blade responded.

"Minor fracture my ass, you broke your arm in 4 places!" Jenn exclaimed.

"And dislocated your elbow." Rossy added.

"But I'm fine now." Blade said stretching the arm in question to prove it, winching in pain when he hyperextend it.

"Yes. Sure you are Jayjay." Jenn said sarcastically.

"Will you stop calling me that!" Blade yelled in mock anger.

"Would you prefer your self styled Blade?" Jenn mocked.

"First of all the name stuck, and second of all, YES!" Blade retorted.

Several hours later, although this is probably an understatement due to the fact that it was approaching 1AM. Blade staggered up the stairs to Hinatasou completely drunk, and still wondering where the hell Jenn had gotten fake ID's for the three of them. He wanted to ask, but he decided this was one gift horse he wasn't gonna look in the mouth.

After hanging around for a few more minutes to make sure all the daycare kids were policed up, the trio had spent a pleasant afternoon including all the usual that friends do when friends gather, shopping lunch,…exetera. Plus the other things that normally happened with these three, including a few looks over Jenn's near Su-like energy levels, Blade nearly pulling a gun on some poor drunk, he was walking funny, and Rossy in his typical form tried to pick up a pretty young lady, only to have her mother come and beat the poor Canadian over the head with her purse.

They then spent the rest of the afternoon in a tavern style bar, using the provided Id's. They talked of things normal teenagers talk of, mixed with conversation that drew from their shared tragic past. They left about 8pm or so, rather depressed and debating weather or not to call it a night, but then Jenn, being the party girl she is took the pair of adolescent boys club hopping. Which went on till midnight, because at that point Ross and Blade both knowing they were thoroughly smashed decided to quit while they where ahead, and had to drag Jenn out of a fight with another drunk woman over who's identical red dress was prettier to do it.

Which is why Blade was coming home at 1 in the morning walking like there was a magnitude 6 earthquake happening under his feet. Blade kept moving towards the door stumbling occasionally. He wasn't looking forward to the hangover he was gonna get in the morning. Blade stopped blinking, he heard something, it sounded like some screaming really far away. He looked around for a moment before glancing up, their was a small speck heading towards him a incredible speed. Blade blinking, watching the UFO, before realizing what it was and drew a X on the ground with his foot. He watched the object's approach for a few more seconds, erased the X, stepped a few feet to the right and drew a second. He then put a reasonable amount of distance between him and the X and watched a Keitaro fall from the sky and hit Blade's X dead on at terminal velocity. Blade walked up to the Keitaro shaped crater in the ground, flinching a the 4 ft depth. He chuckled drunkenly and bent down with some difficultly and pulled a dazed Keitaro out of the hole.

"How da hel dyu surive dose?" he asked, slurring his words.

Getting nothing out of Keitaro, Blade threw his arm over his shoulder and lead Keitaro towards the door.

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Hey guys, for all of you reading this please review I don't care if it's signed or not.

Thanks.


	4. Enemys?

DISCLAIMER: I've said it before and I'm not saying it again.

Hey it's me again I would like to thank all of you who reviewed, even those of you just letting me know you read it. It's a big push to get me to sit down and type.

And I'm been going to driver's ED, which is seriously cutting into my free time so updates will be sporadic at best for a little while.

I was reading this back and realized I use some abbreviations most people don't know so…

CO- commanding officer

XO- executive officer (second in command)

NCO- non-commissioned officers (corporals and sergeants)

BY: Bryant Nykiel (AKA Blade42

EDITOR: David Riley

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Seto thought he was watching a war zone as the riot below him raged on. He stood silhouetted in the window by several burning cars, calmed by the fact that none of his men were in that mess by his own orders.

"Relax Seto." his uncle said behind him, completely ignoring his counsel of war.

"The time for real action in coming." he said turning in his swivel chair to face the young man. Seto's uncle radiated the aura of a aristocratic communist general and might be mistaken for one if it weren't for his heavy Asian features. His uncle commonly known as General Fumeiyo Was dress in a BDU, ( battle dress uniform [AKA camo]) with a German marshal style hat held picture of earth surrounded by a DNA strain instead of a swastika. He took a pull off of an hand rolled Cuban and looked on Seto as a master does a nearly matured pupil.

Seto turned to face his uncle. He looked around the 5 star hotel suit his uncle was currently boarded in. In front of a solid mahogany desk stood five men dressed similar to the General.

"General if you would continue." said on of them politely

"Yes." said the General turning around in his chair. "Come Seto." Fumeiyo said with a wave of his cigar.

"Yes sir." he turned away from the window 1st lieutenant bars glinting in the light. Seto looked remarkably like Seta except without glasses and was signfignetly younger in his mid twenties. His medium length dark hair and dark tan giving him the look of a ecologist instead of a warrior. He came to a rest beside his uncle and came to a parade rest in the face of superior officers. Convinced that Seto would behave himself General Fumeiyo returned to his meeting.

" I would like to thank whoever came up with the idea of hiding our forces in these whale hunting protests. They have allow us to move about with relative impunity. But this gathering will be over in 5 days and then we must make our move. We move in two formations. One will start heading for Tokyo while my nephew will lead a push towards…" Fumieyo bent over a map spread over his desk. " Hinata hot springs." he finished.

" Are you certain of your point unit, sir?" one of the officers spoke up.

"Colonel…" Fumieyo said taking the accusation as a personal insult, the man wasn't questioning the unit, but it's officer.

" Uncle." Seto said forcibly pushing the General back into his seat. He then turned his eyes on the insultive superior. The Colonel flinched rank, or no rank. Seto had eyes that could bore into a titanium wall. "My standing is the same now as it was then. I am a professional soldier, I will charge hell with a bucket of water just because it's orders, but." he said throwing a accusing finger at the Colonel. " I will not piss my men's lives away in a pointless jester." The silence that followed was absolute, only to be broken by a poor Sergeant Major poking his head in the door.

"Excuse me sirs, I need to speak with lieutenant Seto if you don't mind." praying his CO hadn't royally pissed off the other five officers that were staring him down.

" Thank you Major." and with a slight nod at his father's brother Seto was off for the door, not waiting to be dismissed.

" Hello Major." Seto said shaking his friend's hand instead of saluting.

" Good to see you to old friend." the Major replied " and technically I'm off duty." he finished.

"Sorry Jeff." Seto apologized to the American "Any news?" he questioned,

" Yes sir, most of the telegrams to the Reapers have come back." Jeff said.

" And…." Seto inquired

" They all say basically the same thing, either if I'm ordered to or if Blade says so in the case of nco's"

" Then the Reapers may be sitting this one out." Seto concluded, turning to walk down the corridor away for the office door. The hallway was lined with highly vaulted windows to match the gothic look of the hotel, out side them the fiery riot raged on below.

" Why sir?" the major asked.

" Because," Seto said stopping by a window watching the destruction below.

" I know Blade nearly as well as I do you." Seto said smiling briefly at his friend, he had been his Xo for nearly the entire Genetics war.

" Blade may have refined his skills into a near art form but I taught him everything he knows. He's a survivalist Jeff, not a mercenary, he won't fight unless some forces his hand. And then he will fight with every once of strength and ability he possess."

This said, the two officers looked out the window at the raving mass below. Somewhere, flames had finally reached a wrecked car's gas tank and exploded, banishing the shadows in the crowd and lighting the two men's faces.

" I think this counts." Jeff said walking away from the window.

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Yeah I know it's kinda short, by I didn't plan on this chapter being to long anyway. Oh well please review,

Thanks .


	5. Revoaltion

DISCLAIMER: I've said it before so check my earlier entries if really care that much.

Hey I'm back. Sorry for the long absence, but my computer crashed and I lost every thing, including my nearly finished chap. And afterward I lost the will to write for a while. Anyway with school out I should be able to get the new chaps out faster, minus driver's ED and family vacations.

Now for the typical warnings. With school out I've lost contact with my editor for any indeterminable amount of time so, anything I've said about helping find grammar/spelling mistakes before really applies now. I'm kind of using this chapter as a proof-read check, if I get people complaining on the grammar I'll know to check more.And by the way I am the master of typos, just a heads up, i think i found them all.

And finally I'm thinking about scaling the rating up to R. I just want a second opinion based on this chap and the premise.

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Kowlla Su typed away happily at her computer screen seemingly unaware of the shadow detaching itself from the forest floor of her room.

"I've got her this time." Blade thought merrily to himself, maintaining strict sound discipline. He snuck up to with in a couple of feet of SU ready to pouch...

"Good morning Blade." Su said turning around in her chair smiling happily at him.

"How'd you know?" Blade said letting his arms drop.

"Proximity sensors." Su said pointing at a stump that Blade thought looked funny earlier, but shrugged it off with a "like a having a fully grown forest in your room isn't to begin with.

"So what do you need Ku?" Blade asked using his self invented nickname. Besides Kitsune Kowlla was the only other person in the house that thought of Blade in any positive regard. Everybody else either thought of him as a psychotically confused teenager, or a undefeated opponent. Weather it was Su's charismatic and friendly nature or Blade's imposingly opposite character the two got along relatively well. What ever the reason it was all agreed that the fact that Blade was the only person in the house who would willingly teat Su's contraptions had apart to play in it. Although he had flatly refused to test the nuclear powered hover board.

"Tama Walker MK1 is ready!" Su crowed

" Oh." Blade said with a sweat drop. He didn't have very fond memories of the T.W. prototype. The balance system was shoty and the walking gears were mismatched. So Blade went about 20 feet and unceremoniously fell over on his side, and then the laser that was there because it could be went off cutting the Hinata Tea house in half. The roof still leaked.

"Let's go Blade!" Su exclaimed grapping him by the wrist and pulling Blade out the door.

"Mommy."

Naru and Kitsune peered around the door spying in on a bathing Shinobu.

"How the hell did you talk me into this?" Naru asked apprehensively.

"I didn't Keitaro did, remember. He said he wasn't getting anywhere and asked you when I brought up my idea. He said he remembers how much it meant to him to find out that you didn't completely hate his living guts." Kitsune finished.

"The things I do for him." Naru mussed nervously. " No turning back now. " and with that the two women strolled into the hot spring trying to look natural and succeeding too well.

"Wow Su." Blade said looking at the contraption before him. The walker looked like a turtle standing on it's hind legs. It was half the height of the prototype, but even then the turtle was about 4 ½ meters tall. Blade debated momentarily haw the machine was powered. It came down to either 2 million AA batteries or miniature nuclear reactor, probably the latter.

"You've out done your self this time Su." Blade said mystified

" Thanks, I fixed the balance problem. The design was fine , but the system was trying to balance far more than it was capable of. Io removed the laser and shrunk it." Su explained in one breath.

"You should consider sending your designs to the experimental weapons burro, you could make a fortune." Blade commented.

"Weapon?" Su asked

"Yes, Ku, with a few mods this could be an excellent weapons platform." Blade stated his militarily geared mind turning like clock work. "Armor being first off, heavy weapons hard points on the arms. Secondary weapons on the shoulders , maybe RPG's and a 7.62 in a half mount here." Blade finished pointing at the right chest plate.

" I never thought of that." Su said proving her clueless ness at the destructive potential of her abilities. " Time to test it."

" Do I have to?"

Shinobu Miaharaha never been a very malice person, but this Blade character was just the sort of person she detested. The kid had killed INTENTIONALLY. Ended a life, multiple lives. Destroyed the most precious thing on this god given earth, something that should at all costs. Even at the cost of your own. This particular person was probably the the reason that Naru and Kitsune were sitting in the hot springs with her. Keitaro had had this talk with her all ready, and following his advice had lead to this conversation.

flashback

" I bet your proud of your self." Shinobu said rather cross at Blade who was standing next to her cutting carrots.

" you bet your sweet ass I am, I'm just sorry so many people were harmed along the way. Including some of the best friends I've ever known." Blade said sighing, remembering all the dark places he had one trodden.

" And the dead don't bother you?" Shinobu said placing her knife down because her hands were shaking in anger.

"Of course it dose." Blade said noting the fact that Shinobu had laid down her knife. "But there's no point in regretting the people you kill only the friends that you lose. They'll do the same. It's kill or be killed on the battlefield. You respect you enemy, he'll do the same. It's the code of the modern warrior.

"What code!" Shinobu yelled in hysterics. " all you do is kill and kill without caring who you shoot!" Blade stopped cutting and turned to face the distraught young women. "How many people have you killed Blade! How many people like me or Kietaro or Naru, or even Kitsune!" Shinobu screamed at him, tears in her eyes.

"More than the stars in the sky or the waves on the ocean." Blade's face grew more sober but other wise unchanged.

"You fucking heartless bastard." Shinobu whispered barley audile. She turned on her heels and walked out of the kitchen. Tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. Blade sighed, lifts the large knife, and draws it across the back of his hand. Letting the blood drip onto the floor. He had spilled enough blood in his lifetime, it only seemed fair to shed some of his own.

end flashback

Just thinking what could possibly be going thought that boy's head just boggled her mind. He didn't even seem to regret any of the deaths he had caused. He is a despicable, murderous, unforgivable human being. No matter what other people said or thought. As Shinobu came to this conclusion, a shadow came over her, cutting off the sun. Shinobu look up and saw a figure sitting on the roof, casting a long shadow over the hot springs.

" Him again." Shinobu said coldly.

Blade was sitting on the roof slowly sipping a glass of Sake and nursing a very sore left shoulder. Fixed balance of not the walker had a few bugs in it. "Huruka is gonna have a bird when she gets home" He thought to himself. Blade looked a the toppled Tama walker, smoke billowing from the opened engine compartment. It reminded Blade of a down T-63. He swirled the liquid idly, letting his mind wander over recent events. He had woken up earlier to do a load of laundry for Shinobu, only to walk in on her thanking Keitaro for it.

" Why the hell do I try so hard?" he asked the late afternoon sun. "It's like the Major used to say, love is fickle." " but then again," Blade said rubbing his shoulder " So is pain."

"Why do you hate him do much?" Kitsune asked Shinobu as she moved out of Blade's shadow.

"How can you not? He's killed." Shinobu retorted matter of fact-ly. " he's isn't sorry in the least."

" Why should he?" Naru said playing the devil's advocate. "It's war."

"I DON'T CARE**! HE'S STILL A COLD HAERTED MURDERING SON OF A BITCH!!!" **Shinobu screamed more that loud enough for Blade to hear her on the roof."

**" THAT'S IT!"** Blade screamed back smashing his glass against the roof **" I MAY BE A MOURDOUS BASTARD, BUT AT LEAST I'M NOT SOME HOUSEWIFE WANNABE WHO'S TO DAMN COWARDOUS TO FACE HER OWN PARENTS!!" **with that Blade stormed off. The was just out of sight where he stopped and drooped his head.

" that was stupid." Blade said with a sigh. " doubly so." He said with a glance over his painless shoulder. " that was 40 proof sake."

Shinobu glared after Blade, her gaze softening slowly. Not because the insult hurt, but because she couldn't dismiss it completely.

"Your not really all that different ." Kitsune said looking over at a mildly shocked Shinobu.

" You should get to know him." Naru said finishing Kitsune's thought for her.

" But he…" Shinobu protested weakly. Naru and Kitsune sighed collectively, this was a losing proposition and they both knew it. Naru got up to leave and Kitsune pretended to follow suit, but she still had a trump card to play.

"And by the way Shinobu, I believe you owe Blade a thank you." Kitsune said , one foot still in the water.

" Uhh?" For what?" Shinobu asked puzzled

" He's been doing a lot for chores for you behind you weren't looking." Kitsune explained thinking of the many times Blade had woken up early to do some laundry for her, or snuck in to the kitchen to wash the dishes. " you've been thanking the wrong guy."

"Wrong guy…but" Shinobu thought it was Keitaro because he seemed like the kind of guy… no she thought it was Kotare because that's what she wanted to believe.

" You've been judging him on his actions Shinobu." Kitsune said stepping fully out of the hot spring. " take a walk in his shoes, you'll find that he isn't so bad." Kitsune said sending a foxish simile at the young woman. Kitsune then left the Hot spring.

" In his shoes" Shinobu thought-spoke quietly, staring at her reflection in the water.

Blade stood bare foot in the middle of the patio, his hands clasped behind his back watching g the sun set.

" It seems that this place seems to draw me in right around sunset. Not that I mind." Blade thought. The failing sunlight sent golden waves across the river and gave a orange-red hue to every thing else.

" Beautiful" Blade said aloud. He took a deep breath before by the stairs wear his boom box and shoes sat. he set the track number and walked back out to the middle of the patio tight the weighted gloves he had on. His training music always seemed to reflect his mood in one way or another, and tonight was no different. As the lite techno beat picked up Blade allowed the music to guide hi punched at the air.

When you make love   
Do you look in a mirror?   
Who do you think of?   
Does it look like me?   
  
Do you tell lies   
And say this it's forever'?   
Do you think twice   
Or just touch and see?   
  
Uh, c'mon!   
  
I don't wanna touch you too much baby,   
Making love to you might drive me crazy,   
I know you think that love is the way you make it,   
But I don't wanna be there when you just start to break it.   
  
Love bites, love pleases,   
It's bringing me to my knees.   
Love lives, love dies,   
It's no surprise!   
Love begs, love pleases,   
(It's what I need)   
  
When I'm with you   
Are you somewhere else?   
Am I getting through   
Or do you please yourself?   
  
When I'm with you   
Are you somewhere else

Am I getin thru?

Or do you please yourself

When you wake up

Will you walk out?   
It can't be love,   
It you throw it about.   
  
Uh, c'mon!   
  
I don't wanna touch you too much baby,   
Making love to you might drive me crazy,   
I know you think that love is the way you make it,   
But I don't wanna be there when you just start to break it.   
  
Love bites, love bleeds,   
It's bringing me to my knees.   
Love lives, love dies,   
It's no surprise!   
  
Love begs, love bleeds,   
(It's what I need)   
  
It's no surprise!   
Love bites, love bleeds,   
It's bringing me to my knees.   
Love lives, love dies.   
  
Love bites, love bleeds,   
It's bringing me to my knees.   
Love lives, love dies,   
It's no surprise!   
  
Love bites, love bleeds,   
It's bringing me to my knees.   
Love lives, love dies,   
It's no surprise!

Love bites!

The music faded off and Shinobu stood quietly at the top of the stairs, watching Blade breath deeply after his workout. Even thought the softening light was making it difficult to see indoors, their was still plenty of light to see by outside. Without opening his eyes Blade unfastened his gloves letting them drop to the floor, and walked to few steps to the railing. Either ignoring Shinobu or not seeing her, She couldn't decide which. Shinobu turned to leave by an echo of her conversation with Kitsune ran through her head. Shinobu bite her tongue and turned back around. She started towards Blade but stopped, her eyes drifted down until the fell on Blade's shoes. They were big brown hikers with a forest green band around the laces. . Shinobu kicked off her flip-flops sandals and put her feet in to the boots.

The first thing you learn for a person's shoes is their foot size. Shinobu had to tuck her toes under her feet to keep the commandeered footwear. With some minor struggle Shinobu moved up beside Blade with a series of audible clops.

" Hey." Shinobu said trying to be as cheery as possible.

" What do you want Shinobu?" Blade asked neutrally.

"Nothing , Why?" Shinobu responded concern shading her face. " Are you that angry about this afternoon?"

" No. nit really. You've never just talked to me out of the blue before." Blade stated

"Will I am now." Shinobu said, turning around and pushing herself up to sit on the railing. Blade was a big kid when he stood up straight Shinobu barely reached his shoulder. On some primal level it made Shinobu feel a little better to be taller than Blade for a moment.

After that a near absolute silence feel over the pair of teenagers. Nether one wanting to start the needed conversation. In the end Blade couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer.

"Hey, ummm shinobu errr, I just wanted to sasy thattt eerrrrummmrere."

" So am I." Shinobu said getting the message stopped Blade's general incoherent babbling.

"Don't be." Blade said crossing his arms over the railing. "Your probably right."

Now at that moment Shinobu did to things mentally. The first was noticing that Blade's face had lost the embarrassed glow it had held a moment earlier. The second was do a mental double take. " Right? Could that mean…. maybe…?"

Shinobu regarded her companion more carefully, he seemed genuinely upset, could she have been wrong? She decided to ask. Shinobu hadn't liked the answer she had gotten last time she asked this question, might as well ask again.

" Blade, I know this is kind of rude but…"

" I believe you asked me this before." Blade answered, cutting of her question.

" Ya well, I'm asking again." Shinobu stammered out.

" Do I regret what I've done?" Blade asked himself for her.

" No," Shinobu corrected him. " That you've killed. Could just have a straight answer please?" Shinobu begged.

" Yes, to a point." Blade's answer kind of shocked Shinobu, She had always assumed he killed because he enjoyed it. Blade unaware of Shinobu's revelation kept talking.

" I wish I didn't have to, but on the battle field you don't really have a choice. You can afford to really be sorry for you enemy, if you do you'll go crazy. The only regret I have is the friends I've lost. I have enough of that for my lifetime." Blade finished remembering bygone friends.

" That's terrible!" Shinobu proclaimed finally feeling sympathy for the battered young man. For the first time Shinobu saw Blade not as war bent automaton, but a human being. Person with feelings, fears, and weaknesses.

The pair spent a couple of hours on the roof just talking. Their conversation drifted away from the darker matter it had started with leaning into the things typical teenagers talk of. But sun had gone long ago giving in to the cooler summer night, and the two kids surrendered to the cold and headed inside. At the bottom of the stairs Blade spoke up again with one if those now or never thoughts.

" Hey umm Shinobu, if your not doing anything Saturday, I've got a bit of a gathering this and I'd really like it if you could go." Blade said sweating.

A few hours ago She would have flatly said no, but now…

" Sure, Why not." Shinobu answered with a smile.

" Really? Tha that's great. Umm Good night then." Blade said babbling again

"Good Night then Blade." Shinobu said turning around and heading towards her room. " He's no Keitaro but he's earned a chance a guess." Shinobu thought as she strode down the hall. She made a spin to take the hall corner and stopped mid-spin stifling a giggle with her mouth as she caught a sight of Blade (thinking Shinobu was well out of sight) doing a happy dance that would get him confused with the old man from the six flags commercial. (If you don't know what I'm talking about your either not American or very deprived of free time. In either case I apologias.) with a smirk on her face Shinobu finished her turn and continued towards her room.

A few seconds after Blade and Shinobu disappeared down their respective ends of the hall, a flying turtle with a camera on it's back descended from the patio. At the controls in Kowlla's room the rest of the Hinata residents watched as Su checked for a clear coast. there hadn't been entertainment this good sense Naru and Kietaro had gone steady. Speaking of which those two people had a dark looks on their faces. This things went any farther than this 1 unofficial date they would be hard pressed to keep everyone out of their affairs.

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Well that's it for now. Sorry again for the delay. And please review! I'm begging here. I'd even take nazi hate mail at this point…scratch that.


	6. The Dance

DISCLAIMER: Same as always, I don't own anything to do with Love Hina, except for this story.

Once again, sorry for the late up date, got things going on, people to see, just life in general.

Second I apologize in advance for this crappie chapter while at it. This is my third attempt at it and this is the best sounding so far. I figure it's time to cut my losses and move on to the next chapter.

Finally, same as all my other chapters spelling/grammar still sucks. Sorry working on it.

By: Bryant (Blade42)

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Shinobu was simply amazed at the building Blade was leading her towards. It was a high end 3 story, five star restaurant, the Ruby Pearl. It has been graced with visited by many a movie star, and is said to be a favorite of western diplomats in Tokyo. Shinobu would have wondered how they were going to get in if it wasn't for the sign over the entrance. TEEN'S NIGHT, PLEASE USE SIDE DOOR".

Shinobu was dressed in her best dress, a dark purple gown, with white lacing around the short sleeves. Blade was in a military parade uniform. It was a green/brown color, with a matching officers hat. His golden 2nd lieutenant pipes glinting a passerby's, and several medals hanging off his cheat, a combat infantry badge, a field promotion badge and single purple heart.

Blade had been relatively quiet the entire trip there. Only speaking at any length when Shinobu would start a conversation. He seemed preoccupied with appearance, constantly straightening his shirt, or twice Shinobu had caught Blade stealing a glance at her out of the corner of his eye.

So far all Shinobu knew was that, 1 she was being led towards the most posh restaurant for about 100 miles, 2 they weren't going to be back till late (Blade had asked Keitaro to leave the door unlocked when he turned in), 3 she was going to meet at least part of Blade's unit, the Reapers.

They rounded the corner of the building and were confronted by a sea a teenagers in expensive dresses and suits, milling about by the side door.

"I guess they haven't started letting people in yet." Shinobu spoke, stating the obvious as Blade spun in place, looking for people while she spoke.

" Looks like it, were is everybody?" Blade asked, continuing to look around. As if to answer his question there was a loud

"JAYJAY!"

Blade heard this, side-stepped with a half duck as a girl wearing a green dress flew by him. When she landed, Blade embraced her from behind in a bear hug. Blade released her saying,

"Hey Jenn. What's new?"

" Nothing." she replied " Your in uniform." Jenn said almost as a chrisom.

"What's wrong with the uniforms?" a new voice said from behind Blade. The young man who the voice belonged to stood up beside Blade and Shinobu did a double take. Except for his Blond hair and scar separating his eyebrow the guy looked nearly identical to Blade. He was wearing basically the same clothing too, minus any headwear.

"Although the hat maybe over doing it." The young man said.

"Now what the hell is wrong with my hat?" Blade said staring the new comer down, for several seconds before snorting in laughter allowing a crooked smile to show on his face.

"How have ya been Rossy?" Blade said recomposing himself.

"Like's getting better." Ross replied with a shrug. Blade was about to answer when Jenn cut him off.

" Where's Spook?"

"What do you mean where's Spook?" Blade answered a little too quickly.

"Exactly what I said Where's Spook?" at this information both Ross and Blade immediately went back to back scan their respective vision arcs hunting for the elusive Spook. 

" Hey what's this about?" Jenn said placing her hands on her hips and glaring the two boys down.

"Don't get us wrong Jenn we're both proud to call your brother a friend," Rossy said Explaining for them.

" But" Blade interjected "That kid in this environment, as reasonably well lit as it is scares the shit out of me."

"Don't you me this kid?" and smooth voice said basically in their ears. Blade and Ross whipped around at the source of the voice, relaxing when their eyes fell pone it's source. The guy looked like a living Shadow. He was slender but well built, and held a darker aura about him than any of the other former warriors gathered around Shinobu. It was also blatantly obvious that her was related to Jenn, he had the same jet-black hair. Last his cloths although in the same design as Blade's/Ross's was the purest black Shinobu had ever seen.

"Don't do that!!" Blade and Rossy yelled in unison.

" Sorry" Spook said, " It's kind of a hobby." Blade just placed his hand over his face and shook his head.

" Who's your friend here?" Spook asked, turning his attention to the quiet Shinobu.

"Oh sorry, everyone this is Shinobu." Blade beginning the introduction, then turning to introduce his comrades. Their reactions were as broad as the human race, each one a reflection of their character. "This is Sean McDonald."

He nodded his head slightly saying "Just Spook."

"This is Christopher Ross."

"Hello Shinobu." Rossy said shaking her hand warmly.

" And this is Jennifer McDonald."

"HI-ya!" Jenn cried in her normal overly happy attitude. She then moved forward embracing Shinobu, drifting her hands down and firmly grabbing her butt. In typical fashion Shinobu yelped, broke Jenn's grip, and proceeded to blush a very deep crimson.

Expected or not all the males present locked their jaws and faced a different direction in a pitiful attempt to subdue their laughter. Fortunately a waiter stepping out side the door and calling prevented any further interaction.

" Reapers party of…….47?!?"

" That's us." Ross said neutrally as he turned to head for the door, with Spook and Jenn following him. Blade hung back to walk beside Shinobu.

"Sorry I should have warned you about that." Blade said, " Jenn swings very liberally." Blade finished with a swinging of his hand.

" It's all right, I guess." Shinobu answered. " Su would probably love her."

"That she would." Blade commented. "Anyway lets head inside."

The side door was just simply a stair well with access to every level of the building. The waiter led the first group up the stairs to the third story. As the people set foot on the floor, everybody to some degree or another gasped in awe of the elegance of the place. The floor was modeled in to a ballroom, with all the trimming, up to and including solid mahogany (I think that's spelled right) woodworks, and Persian carpets.

"Good thing the restaurant is writing our visit tonight as a tax deduction, or thing would be costing us a pretty penny." Blade said looking up at several crystal chandlers. The waiter directed the Reapers party towards a banquet-sized table. People took their seats. Shinobu sat next to Blade being he was the only person she knew to any realistic degree.

It wasn't long after everyone was settled that the typical dinner party conversation arose around that table. The merry mood was extremely infectious and even Shinobu, the outsider at the moment, had a smile a pone her face. Shinobu listened to the conversations around her; she didn't understand what most of them were about, (every one had at least some militarily relation or babble in it.) But she did understand the reason for such a grand this was the first time in a while the entirety Reaper had been together, they were all making use of it.

Menus were distributed, and people ordered and ate their meals. As good as the food was that wasn't why anyone had come tonight, they came to have a good time, and the DJ had finished setting up an hour ago.

And so the next several hours past, everybody even the shy Shinobu danced at least few times, thought it was all female Reapers bring her into their various dance circles. Trying to get to know this new comer.

But watching festivities like this can be a bit too much. Which is why, Shinobu was standing on the balcony by the dinning hall listening to the music. The nice thing about living near the ocean is that most people have an ocean view, and this building was no exception. The night held onto only a sliver of the moon, making the waves invisible except of a few hundred inky feet. As always, there was the slight breeze coming in off of the water, with the tide keeping the air cool. The overly comfortable surroundings gave Shinobu a sense of relaxed calm, and under it, Shinobu tuned out the world for a moment. Because of this she didn't hear Jenn come up behind her.

" Hey um, Shinobu was it?" Jenn asked Shinobu who jumped and quickly turned around to face this surprise speaker.

"Oh, hello Jenn." She replied keeping her back against the banister.

"Do you have a minute?" Jenn asked bluntly, uncharacteristically sober.

" I guess. What's up?" Shinobu replied, dropping all of her defenses at Jenn's new attitude.

" Well I just want to talk… mostly about your date." Jenn said closing to conversation range with Shinobu.

" I wouldn't really call it a date." Shinobu said trying to sidestep the implied idea.

" BS, how is introducing you to the most important people to you not? Jenn retorted. "Perhaps, he doesn't know how important."

"Jenn?" Shinobu's face soften in sympathy " Sorry"

"Don't be, you didn't cause this" Jenn answered

" Still I know how you feel." Shinobu explained.

" What happened?" Jenn asked almost pleading.

" He is engaged to one of my best friends." Shinobu answered truthfully.

"Ouch." a simple reply for a simple pain.

" Yeah, could kind of see it coming thought. I got over it… kind of," Shinobu said blushing mildly "Anyway back why this started."

" Yeah… I guess I just want to know what do have that I don't." Jenn responded with a shrug.

" Not a whole lot maybe… he's just blind." Shinobu offered.

As the girls had a heart to heart, Blade stood in the doorway watching the two young ladies, he had no clue what they were talking about but what ever it was, it was really getting to Jenn.

"Come on Ross, looks they could use a little cheering up, or at least a dance."

" Well I don't ... eeerrrrr. Can't you handle it?" Rossy stammered back.

"No, now come on." Blade said stepping out of the shadows.

" Good evening ladies." Blade said looking over his shoulder to find Ross still hiding by the door.

"Hey Blade. What's going on?" Shinobu asked him.

" Well the DJ has finally let up on the Techno and it would be rather rude of me not to offer a dance to milady." Blade said putting in a half bow with a rare smile on his face that had become uncomfortably common tonight.

" Quite the gentlemen." Shinobu commented, carefully eyeing Jenn.

" No I'm/he's just a halfway decent actor." Blade and Jenn said in unison using their respective pronoun. With must have been a normal occurrence because neither Blade nor Jenn missed a beat.

"Go on." Jenn said almost shoeing them away. The pair took their leave, exiting the balcony. As so as he was out of sight Blade stepped over to Ross who was hiding in the shadows.

" She's looking kind of lonely buddy." Blade said nudging his friend with his elbow.

" Well I don't know." Ross whined

" Coward, you've known her for over 2 years." Blade reprimanded, giving Ross a stern push, dispelling him from his hiding spot.

"Oh umm hi Jenn…."

"My work here is done." Blade said bushing off his hands

" You guys are a very odd group." Shinobu said letting Blade lead her towards the dance floor

"Not really." Blade said, continuing to speak despite reaching his destination, and slipping his hands around her waist, " You just got dropped of in the middle of act 3."

"Ok, but she does have a crush on you, you know that right?" Shinobu asked placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Yes, same here to a point I suppose, but sometimes you just have to know when to step aside, instead of indulging someone else's fantasy." Blade explained quietly

"So, you chose to remove yourself from the possibility instead of toying with her, and to give Ross a chance?" Shinobu inquired

"In a nutshell I guess, but your making this out to be far nobler than it really is." Blade disputed.

" Not by much." Shinobu countered, pulling close enough to Blade rest her head on his Shoulder, " There's more to you than meets the eye."

Blade opened his mouth to speak but closed it. The dance would be over in about a half an hour; he didn't see any need to speak until then. Why ruin a perfectly good silence?

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Sorry, I had to write it. Please review I know it isn't my best, but still it helps to know how I messed this one up. It just reads sloppy and don't have a clue why. Please help!!


	7. News

DISCLAIMER: Same as before, I don't owe Love Hina or any of its characters. Blade (Jason) and the other Reapers or mine though.

Okay, I'm back, for a minute anyway. This is this still the "Blade" story but I figured that title might be throwing people off so I'll give this one a try.

Originally I planned on making this and the next chapter one big one. But I'm going on vacation for a week and I figured I'd cut it short then try to combine them now. (Besides I think it flows better this way anyway.)

And same as always sorry for the spelling and grammar.

By Bryant (Blade42)

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Blade sat at the dinning table quietly nibbling his eggs among the normal morning chaos of the Hinatasou. He was keeping to himself trying to avoid any scrutiny about his outing last night, mostly because the topic made him rather squeamish for some unexplainable reason.

" So Blade," Keitaro said bringing up the exact topic Blade was trying to avoid. " How was the excursion last night?"

"Fun, very fun." Blade keeping it short.

" Fun? That's it?" Kitsune said trying to drag a better answer out of Blade.

" Just Fun. And I fail to see how this is any of your business." Blade responded shortly

"Well if your not talking… how was it Shinobu?" Kitsune reasked her question.

" Umm… fun." Shinobu said retreating into the kitchenette escaping the center of the conversation.

" Oh come on, admit it, you didn't have anything better to do." A silky voice said joining the conversation unannounced. The resident's heads whipped around at the intruder with the exception of Blade.

"Hey Spook, you let yourself in again?" He said rolling his head lazily to look at his old comrade. He was dress in a pair of black jeans with a matching black button-down shirt.

" No this is the first time I've ever been here." Spook said, his voice floating thought the room like a light breeze

"Nonetheless, that is a bad habit old buddy." Blade replied.

" I'd say, who is this guy?" Naru questioned angrily.

"This is Sean," Blade answered blandly, kind of annoyed with the situation.

" Sean? OH! Good morning." Shinobu said emerging from the kitchen, now that the coast was clear.

"Morning Shinobu," Spook Replied, "And good morning Ms. Kitsune."

"I'll told you to drop the Ms." Kitsune replied tiredly.

" Maybe." Spook answered with a devious smile. " So who is everybody?"

"Sorry" Blade apologized. " You already know Shinobu and **Ms**. Kitsune." Blade said as Kitsune growled at him. " This is Su, Naru, Keitaro, and…. Where's Matoko?" Blade asked puzzled that he hadn't seen she leave the table.

" I saw here leave to do her morning practice." Su stated between mouthfuls of her breakfast.

" I take she's the marshal artist I've heard about." Spook said flirting the fact that he knew something about the people here.

" That she is." Blade answered, " Sense Jenn hasn't popped out of one corner or another, I assume that this isn't a social call."

"Nope, have you seen today's paper."? Spook asked flatly.

"No, where is it?" Blade asked looking about for the Hinata's copy.

" I have one." Spook said dropping it in front of Blade. The paper wasn't even opened; the thing had never been read. It sat there perfectly folded as Blade just stared at the front paper.

"We need to talk." Spook said grimly.

"Outside." Blade ordered. Without another word the two young men left the room and walked out the front door. All the residents still at the table blinked momentarily before crowding around the subspitus newspaper. The front page held a picture of the whaling protesters from the day before. All the people in the photo were throwing some form of happy pose at the camera, save one. A single my standing straight and stiff as a statue. If any of the residents had known this man they might have been clued into the danger they where about to face, for that man was 1st lieutenant Seto, former commander of the Reapers.

Matoko stood on the Hinata's balcony practicing her swing, and trying to keep her head clear enough to do it. Something about this new kid was unnerving her for some reason. Come to think of it Blade did the same thing when he first showed up. Something about the whole lot of them was just off. Matoko's train of thought was broken by a loud

"WHAT!" From below her. Matoko looked over the railing to see Blade and Spook, both of them obviously agitated. Matoko started to turn away have given up on getting any practice done but stopped and looked over her shoulder, deciding that she couldn't help herself. Matoko turned around and jumped, landing with a grace that would put a skydiver to shame.

"Calm down sir." Spook said unaffected by Blade's outburst, and offering a cigarette. "Smoke?"

" I quit." Blade answered automatically, as Spook opened the carton with his thumb. " But then again, it's not like there's a point to clean living anymore." Blade countermanded with a half-truth. Although the clean living comment was true, the cancer stick as mostly so that people spying on them would have a much harder time reading their lips. But unknown to them Matoko was pressed against the corner of the building listening to every word they spoke.

" Ok." Blade said breathing out the smoke of his freshly light cigarette. "Give me the idiot's Intel, all the details you know of." Blade finished settling back into old wartime habits.

"Yes sir," Spook said sensing the change in is friend and now superior officer. "Well first we know that General Fumieyo is here in Japan, about a 6 hour drive from here. And he is ready to move soon."

" How soon is soon?" Blade asked wirily, fearing the answer.

" 1am tonight at the latest." Spook said with out a change of emotion.

" Damn." Blade whispered. He looked around the Hinata Springs, already picturing the carnage it was about to endure. Blade glanced over at the windows smiling weakly as the residents tried to duck out of sight.

" And their commander is General Fumieyo as in Maxim's top general and deepest believer in his warped ideals."

" Yup." Spook replied. " Their plans are to assault the capital, and create a new nation were natural selection can take place again. To allow humanity to evolve again."

" I know their basic believes Sean." Blade retorted crossly. "And I also know screwed up they are. I lost one of my brothers to his purges."

" Sorry," Spook continued without a loss of step. He and lost his little sister the same way, but there way no room for grief now.

"Their forces are mostly untrained fanatic conscripts, with 2 battalions of the general's original forces from the Genetics' war although it's close to 4 or 5 if you count the men spread among the conscripts as officers."

"Which one's stayed with him."? Blade asked, just as curious as he was scared.

" The 101st and 24th of the 2nd regiment where disbanded to make officers. Fumieyo keep the 4th and the 17th together." Spook reported

" The Hell's angels and Satin's left hand." Blade whispered the unit's common names.

"In addition," Spook continued. " General Fumieyo has hired several mercenary regiments, all in all a little less that two divisions wroth of combat personnel." He finished

"Combat?" Blade asked looking thoroughly confused to Matoko's surprise leaning around the corner a bit to hear better. For a combat vet he had asked an extremely stupid question.

" Yes Jason combat, they won't have the usual supply train most modern armies do, their going back to the old way of feeding armies." Spook reported a look of low-grade anger on his face.

The old way to feed an army is looting and pillaging, conquering area and stripping it bear of anything valuable, and all the food they could find. Normally leaving the citizens to starve to death.

" If the soldiers are expected to steal and rob for their suppers, they aren't going to keep to civilized curtsies either." Blade reasoned. " Basically people will be murdered and abused, women will be raped, the soldiers will be in control, and it will be total anarchy."

" It's loot loot loot, that make the boys get up and shoot shoot shoot." Spook added, looking out over the city. "We've seen it happen."

"That's why we have to stop it." Blade said determined " It won't be easy."

" When is anything we do easy?" Spook asked rhetorically.

" Good point, well before we jump into this head first wouldn't just happen to know their complete movement plan huh?" Blade asked hopefully

" Some-what, it's pretty simple, their plan is a two front attack on the capital to overwhelm the defense forces, with any luck they hope this phase will be over in less than 48 hours. And that's the reason I'm here. 1 force will make a direct line for Tokyo, the other will have to cross this body of water." Spook said thumbing out at the bay. " It's the only place where the loss of the bridge won't affect the speed of their plan's too much. With the sallow water and lit current it causes, theoretically the enemy could ferry 20,000 men across in about 8 hours." Spook reported again.

" Fuck." Blade said simply. " And too top this all off, the only army units that are going to engaged in the next 48 hours are the 3 or 4 Battalions around Tokyo. Those poor souls are going to be hard pressed to hold prepared defenses with all the support the navy and air force can muster, never mind sallying some support out here." Blade took the finished cigarette out of his mouth and flicked as far away ass he could. "We need a plan."

" Cookie should be able to help with supplies." Spook offered

" That was kind of a given, we don't need weapons, we need soldiers, badly. 40 some-odd warriors cannot hold out against 20,000 enemy personnel. I hate to say it but we're going to have to conscript the forces we need."

" Yes sir." Spook said obviously not liking the decision, but then again he passed up becoming an officer way back when to avoid have to make these kind of decisions in the first place. Besides he more that trusted Blade.

" All right, Spook I need you to get every body down here and brief them, tell Jen to grab a few people and start working on a evacuation plan for the noncombatants. And I think that's it for the moment." Blade finished his orders with a childish uncertainty. "And before you go anywhere, how the hell did you get this information?" Blade asked.

" A combination of, hacking, strong arming, and old friends in unique positions." Spook confessed.

"You're a piece of work old friend." Blade responded shaking his head.

" Maybe Sir, and here." Spook answered handing Blade an unopened pack of cigarettes. " The Shit's really hit the fan."

" Fan?" Blade joked taking the cigarettes thankfully, " We're talking about a dump truck and a turboprop."

" Too true, see ya Blade." Spook agreed, starting to jog down the stairs. As Spook disappeared, Blade unwrapped the carton of smokes, and placed one in his mouth patting his pockets fruitlessly, he hadn't carried a lighter on him sense he stopped smoking in the first place.

Matoko leaned around the corner to assure that the coast was clear. Finding it so she stepped out of shadow of the building, her mind burdened by the knowledge that soon her home would be attacked, her country assaulted and her friends threatened by an oncoming barbarian hoard, and there was very little she could do about it.

Everyone needed to know.

Back in the house, Blade entered though the front door his unlit cigarette still in his mouth. He turned the corner into the dining room to find the table cleared, and everyone pretending to be cleaning in the kitchen, and it was insulting obvious that the only two that had any clue what they where doing was Shinobu and Keitaro.

" Give it up guys, I'm not telling you anything yet." Blade announced, strolling into the crowd.

"Umm, what's that?" Shinobu asked pointing at the cancer stick in Blade's mouth

" A cigarette, and I seem to be lacking a way to light it." Blade commented, his eyes coming to rest on the stove. Which he then used to light the smokable cylinder.

" You shouldn't be smoking those." Kitsune warned him

" So? Considering my profession, I doubt this little thing is going to kill me." Blade shot back, waving the cigarette around to empathize his point.

" Jason please put it out." Shinobu asked Blade, using his Real name and fixing her eyes on him with a begging expression.

" Alright Shinobu, you win." Blade surrendered under her assault, running the nearly unused cigarette under the facet before stamping it out and throwing it away.

"Shame, I haven't had a Marlboro in a long time." Blade commented, turning to leave the room. " I'll be around" He proclaimed over his Shoulder disappearing up the stairs, humming the "Hamster dance" to himself.

As the girls and Keitaro watched Blade vanish up the stairs, Kitsune rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

" I think we're in trouble here everyone." She said.

" Why?" Shinobu sounding out asking the predictable question.

" Because, Blade hasn't smoked sense he came to Japan."

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Ok, well what did you think, please drop me a review. I got nothing last chapter and that pretty much killed all will to right this here.

So please!!!!!!! I don't care if it's praise flames, or as simple as I read it. There are 6.3 billion people on the planet someone has to be reading this!


	8. arrival

DISCLAIMER: same as last time and the time before that and the time before that….

well I'm back, nothing much to say but, shit happens I got distracted

I decided that considering my story plans I needed a scene transition, so ##### is a major scene change and other than that sorry for the spelling/grammar problems. Again.

By: Bryant (Blade42)

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"That's all I know." Motoko admitted quietly to the residents of the Hinatasou gathered with her in the current manager's room. " I don't understand this anymore than you do but that's what I heard." there was several seconds of silence before Shinobu spoke up.

" But why would anyone to destroy our home?"

" They don't," Kitsune answered " It just happens to be in the way. It's how this crap works"

" Well that's just great." Naru growled angrily " What do we do now, Run away?"

"No I won't run." Keitaro said defiantly, a fire burning in his eyes " I was a mess before I came here, I had nothing but my delusions to follow. Sense I've arrived here I've been the luckiest man on the planet, my has a direction now, and I've found the greatest friends I've ever known. I'm not leaving so easily, if they want Hinata, they came take the deed from my cold dead fingers."

" you're a fool Keitaro, you don't stand a chance on your own." Blade thought to himself, sitting in Naru's room by the hole in the floor. " But maybe if we find enough people like you we not just win. You may have a chance at surviving." Blade looked away from the board covered lack of flooring and returned to cleaning his Beretta.

"I'm staying too." Shinobu squeaked out in the calm following Keitaro's speech. " Sempei's right, we can't just leave. This our home. I my not be able to fight but, I'll do something. I can't leave, I won't." She stopped as Su placed a hand her shoulder

" Shinobu none of us are leaving, this is our home too."

" Your right there suga, we're staying too." Kitsune said

" Then it's settled everyone's staying." Naru said quickly cutting off any of Keitaro's protests.

" Fools." Blade said causing everyone in the room to up. " Your all fools."

Several hours had pasted after Blade's comments in the Manager's dwelling, and the impending doom had become a shadow on everyone's thoughts. Willing to fight or not everybody was prepare in their own ways for the upcoming battle. Keitaro and Naru were together in Naru's room just enjoying the warmth of each other's bodies. Motoko was sharpening her Katana, praying to her ancestors for courage, and protection for all involved. Su was well Su, off building again and blissfully unaware of the full affects her contraptions were to have on the battle. Kitsune was readying her camera, Shinobu was in her room swimming in her own thoughts. Blade stood out side her his hand half way up to knock. He stopped himself letting his hand drop. " I'm the last person she wants to see right know." He thought walking away.

From outside there was a loud snort of a diesel engine.

" about time." Blade said allowed.

The residents filed out of Hinata to find about 20 people ( Blade's age and younger) coming up the stairs carrying large boxes between them.

" Hey! Where's Blade?" one asked after he set down the box he was carrying.

" I'm right here Rossy." Blade answered from the doorway. He was dressed in his BDU, with his utility belt on his waist. Holding his pistol and combat knife among other things.

" Good morning sir," Ross called to his friend, " And good morning to you too Shinobu." He continued with a nod to Shinobu in the gathered group of Hinata residents beside the doorway.

Blade strolled over beside Ross watching his people run equipment up the stairs.

" It's like nothing ever changed." Rossy commented on the scene,

" Yeah, speaking of which, you got a light?" Blade asked producing a cigarette from his barrowed pack.

" Here" Ross said handing him one " Keep it." Blade nodded his thanks and pocketed the device.

" So what do we have?" Blade asked poking the crate with his foot.

" Mostly soviet stuff right now. AK-47G's and AKM-D's. we've managed to get some heavier weapons to, AKM -ssB's and boys III anti-tank rockets."

" any arty support?" Blade interrupted " I've got something jury rigged here but…"

" We brought 5 60mm tubes and about 600 rounds." Ross reported " All in all about enough equipment to arm 3-4 thousand people once the other trucks arrive. And cookie said if we send the trucks back he could get us more equipment."

" Good Good, it's a start anyway." Blade commented " But we need soldiers, not weapons."

" I think that problem's solved it's self. Their was a general service about a hour ago, we put out our own announcement 10 minutes ago." He said pointing to several people unloading boxes in civilian clothing. " There's already been a response."

" Excellent," Blade said a smile spreading across his face. " Then here's the plan."

It sky was a perfect cloudless blue, lending itself to the nearly perfect weather. The sun was shining and leaves were changing colors, it was a beautiful fall day. Almost like mother nature was laughing at the pitiful troubles of the humans below her. With no cloud cover to use a pair of turtle shaped flying machines skimmed the tree tops, the trees bent as the machines passed mere feet from their tops.

" Tamaboys to tea house, come in Tea house." there was a pause as the radio crackled to life.

" This is Tea house, report TB."

" We have contacts all along the I-95 inter-state, looks like the main column." The pilot said looking at his ground directed sonar.

" Alright Tamaboys the defenses are not complete I repeat the bridge line in not ready for a full assault you have to slow them down. Your orders are to engage and delay the enemy by any means necessary, understand?"

" Yes sir!" The pilot answered switching channels. " TB to Rocky, fire mission over."

" I'm here boys, where do you need it?" an older man announced over the line

" I need a full spread, heavy on the AP on the I-95 marker 16, 17, and 18,"

" On it." response was simple and precise. This wasn't so hard, Shiri thought as watched Hitari open his after burners and sprit across the highway in question to better watch the shells impact. Tamaboy 2 had only been across about 15 seconds when a series a explosions ripped across the road.

" Ow." Hitoni said as the smoke cleared. " That looks like it hurt… Oh shit."

" What!?!" Shiri declared stopping as the smoke cleared from his view. The column had taken some casualties, but was unharmed as a hole, unless something drastic was done the enemy wouldn't been slowed down enough to matter. " Damn, TB to Rocky barrage was ineffective I repeat the barrage was ineffective, launch the mini nukes!"

" Nukes away! Splash down in 20 seconds, Tamas GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!" Rocky screamed at Shiri

" Tama 1 full burn!"

" Tama 2 full burn!" With this warning the engines of the scouts opens up and the vehicles were nosed up as they screamed thought the sky at mach 2. Behind them a series of bright flash went off over the roadway.

Blade opened his eyes again after closing them for the nukes. He blinked several time to readjust his eyes to the sunlight. He looked up at the Tama mark 3 duplicates perched up the hill near the Hinatasou. Somehow over the course of the night Su had managed to build 2 more of the things add ion to the 3 she had in storage, now they were running artillery support. Doing a pretty decent job at it too. Blade looked back down towards his own immediately surroundings. The Hinata tea house had been turned into the a very busy command post. Te tables had been removed and replaced with radios and a mix people trying to take the place of command and control. In the center of the room a large holographic table was set up projecting a large 3D image of the area on it.

Over the course of the night something close to 9,000 people to help man the defenses and fight their countries battle. Some how, the relatively few people who know what the hell needed to be done, had organized units, armed the combatants and put together a place to hold the city. Weather by miracle or fate it looked like might win if they drew the right cards.

" Ok." Blade said placing his hand on the shoulder of the woman at the consol to the 3D table, " let's see just how close they are, bring up artillery markers 16 ,17, and 18." The lady complied typing her keys and brought up the information, " Damn, their closer than I feared, I guess they did need to use the nukes." Blade sighed in a growing depression and turned away from the screen. He looked back over his shoulder at the three pulsing dotes that represented were the recent artillery had fallen. " they're fast."

" You called sir?" a familiar voice asked

" Is Ross and that contractor with you, Jenn?" Blade asked

" Well your strait to business, yes they're outside." Jenn said almost complaining.

" Then come on." Blade said walking out the door.

" Hello Ross, and Mr…"

" The boys just call me Boss." The man said, his black mustache bouncing as he spoke.

" Okayy… Boss, how far along are you?" Blade said cutting thought the small talk.

" Oh umm." Boss jabbered, caught off guard by the swift change in subject, by the youngster. " We'll be done in about 6 hours." He stated definitely.

" You have 2, maybe 3 if we're ungodly lucky." Blade said stiffly

" what, but we…" Boss stopped in mid sentence, Blade was holding up one finger for silence. In between him shutting up and Blade speaking again Boss had a revelation. How this child could command so many people. He projected, confidence, experience, and a cold keen intelligence, but most importantly he projected such a sense of cold one mindedness when he got into stride that no one doubted that he would probably shoot you if you some much as dared interrupt him. The people knew him well knew this wasn't the case, he hadn't shot anybody over something _that_ trivial.

" The enemy is 2 miles away, and in full force. I personally expect the forward elements to attack any minute. I just expended my only nuclear armaments to buy you those 2 hours, so I don't want hear you won't be ready, cause not ready is being attacking in you sitting room asleep in your favorite chair. Now you will get do their and work you hands to the bone to get those defenses ready or I will shoot you myself. Am I clear?" Blade growled using his extra height on the man to loom over him and press right into his face.

" Y-Y-Y-yes sir." Boss stammered officially more scared of this youngster than he was of the 20,000 opponents over the bridge. " I'll get right on it." The man finished and moved back towards his position as fast as he could without sprinting.

" You didn't have to scare him like that." Jenn said watching the man retreat.

" Yes he did." Ross spoke coming to his friend's defense. " It was the only way to get the situation across completely, I doubt that man's ever been in a fist fight, never mind combat. To him this is just another construction contract, not a race for his and well everybody else's lives."

"Yeah that's basically how it works. Anyway back to business, Ross I want you to take Foxtrot and reinforce the bridge head, and I want your opinion in how it's coming."

" Yes sir." Ross said with a nod. He took of jogging to retrieve Foxtrot company and move into position.

" And Jenn how is the evacuation coming?" Blade inquired.

" the stragglers will be out of the city in 40 minutes or less. Jenn reported giving up on getting a conversation out of him this after this mess cleared up.

" perfect, or nearly." Blade reflected. " hey Jenn…"

" I'm not going to cover for you Jayjay, if you need a break I'm going with you." Jenn demanded

" Suit yourself." Blade said shrugging, walking up the stairs towards the Hinata. Pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. " Want one?" he asked holding out the pack to Jenn.

" Why not." Jenn answered pulling a stick from the carton, and using Blade's butt to light it." She took a drag before she continued. "Your scared aren't you?"

" Not really." Blade answered as the pair ascended the last stair. " We'll do plenty of damage." he said staring at the machine resting before him. It was one of the AA guns they had received, in theory the machine could shoot incoming rockets and shells, in theory.

"That's not what I meant, I was talking about your friends." Jenn countermanded, her eyes shrinking into slits in annoyance.

" I don't know what your talking about, I have no reason to fear for your safety. Shinobu and the others on the other hand… well I can't afford to baby them even if I am scared. I just put them where they have the best chance. That's really not much better though." Blade admitted.

" Well… where are they?" Jenn demanded placing her hands on her hips and tapping one foot.

" Keitaro is in Delta company under Ross, Naru's running support for the mortars, Su's doing what Su does, Motoko was snatched up by your brother, and I put Shinobu in supply, but she wanted to help in the aid station so…there she is." Blade rambled

" Well where's Kitsune?" Jenn as a series of rapid clicks went off behind them

"Doing her job." Blade said looking over his shoulder at Kitsune as she lowered her camera.

" You really shouldn't worry so much." Kitsune said moving in-between the teenagers, " We can take care of ourselves." Kitsune reminded Blade.

"I don't…" Blade never finished his response. He was cut off by the crackle of gun fire in the distance.

" Looks like it's party time Blade. Time to do what we do best." Jenn said. Blade simply nodded. He turned and walked down the stairs, towards the command post, saying a silent prayer, thanking who every he owned thanks to, for the courage of the men about to die, and those who wouldn't be far behind.

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Alright I'm signing off, correcting my work always makes me drowsy. Please RR

Goodnight.


	9. COMBAT

Disclaimer: I'm just lazy see earlier entries

Jez, well not much to say in my extensive absence, I just kind of lost the will to write for a while back there. Meh, sorry to those who read this so far, and to those just starting this now, it really doesn't matter does it?

Anyway only side notes I've got are, my spelling and grammar still bad, and it's been awhile since I typed these Japanese names, I think I got mostly right.

BY: Bryant(Blade42)

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"A brave man will charge head long into battle against his own fears and better judgment, a smart man will turn from battle without any remorse.

The world is very short on smart men"

Keitrao worked his sweaty hands over the grips of his firearm nervously trying to rid himself of the pools of moisture under his palms. The ground rumbled beneath his feet announcing the approach of the enemy. Over the lip of his shallow little trench Kietaro watched the tanks slowly crawl forward, trying the shield the infantry from the expected attack. He sat with his knees in his chest, beside one of Blade's friends; he thought it was Ross, or Rossy or something like that. Over the radio in his hand Keitaro could a gentle coaxing of " wait for it."

Keitaro worked his hands over his weapon again. It wasn't an assault rifle like most other people's but a lighter carbine to compensate for the weight of the rockets strapped to his back. He glanced over to his compatriot, in all honesty he wasn't quite sure of his name. He wanted to say Kent, but he wasn't really sure.

Kent looked over at Keitaro showing a weak smile. Keitaro replied with an equally weak thumbs up.

" I'll make you a deal," Kent, whispered over the din of the approaching tanks. "You keep loading I'll keep shooting."

" Sounds fair." Keitaro replied.

" Almost there." the radio crowed again.

" Show time." Kent muttered shouldering his launcher. Keitaro nodded, slinging his carbine over his own shoulder and pulling out a second missile from his pack.

"All right boys party time, follow the bouncing tracers." there was a loud click over the radio and across the entire front time just froze. Everyone in his or her own little world.

Naru hugged her knees into her chest besides her machine gun, silent tears rolling down her face, Motoko laid on her stomach with Spook and the rest of his team in an attic near the line, Su was doing what Su does with the help of several machinists trying to produce more weapons. Kitsune was rolling film into her camera as fast as she could, and finally Shinobu was gathered with a group of doctors and their help, waiting for their job to start.

Blade picked his head up from the earpiece of the radio and looked over at the Crazy 8. Crazy 8 was the name the crew had given the 8-barreled AA gun. The gunner stared at Blade watching him make the slightest of nods. He looked back over the eyepiece rechecking the aim and slowly pulled the trigger. And to the end of his days that young man would swear he heard the pin draw back and strike the mercury primer of that first round.

The roar of heavy machine gun fire was deafening as if chewed apart a LAV (light armored vehicle) into a shadow of it's former self, and as if the green flag at the Indy 500 was just dropped the entire line opened up on the enemy.

The opening volley annulated the forward ranks, without any care or remorse. The poor souls never had a chance. Even as their bodies fell to the ground the battle raged on. Then enemy was still pressing across the bridge not the mention the barges across the river, moving under the cover of whistling artillery.

Keitaro slammed rockets into Kent's launcher trying desperately to keep up his fevered rate of fire. Whether Kent was hitting anything Keitaro didn't have the time to look. Keitaro throw himself to the ground as a shell landed far to close to the trench. As he picked his head off of the ground he froze. His eyes rested on the man beyond Kent. He hadn't ducked fast enough and had been completely decapitated…

Blade looked over the 3d map of the battle grimacing at how fast it was going downhill. Of all the uncertainties this battle presented, there was one certainty. This was no battle. This was a slugging match, two boxers nailing each other in the face and not bothering to block. This was no challenge of strategy or training. But a simple case of who can take the most damage and keep coming. This was the worst way to fight anything never mind a war.

Keitaro tried to dig his nose deeper into the dirt away from all the shellfire. Each explosion drove him farther into the soil. Another shell struck and caused the world to buck like an angry mechanical bull. Keitaro was nearly to the point of break down when a stiff kick in the ribs. He looked up at Ross **standing** in the crossfire. Raining Artillery wasn't fazing him and bullets left him untouched.

" On your feet, you're not being of any use down there!" Ross yelled over the battle. As he watched this Kietaro's courage slowly grew, and so did his will to fight again.

" Reload!" Kent yelled grabbing Keitaro's attention. And Slowly Kietaro rose to his feet and slammed another rocket into the launcher.

The man screamed in pain as his wounds spilled his blood a pone the ground. He flailed against the doctors in a pain driven panic. Shinobu just stared as more people were rushed looking as if they'd be run through a meat grinder.

" Hey kid!" A doctor yelled at her. Shinbone turned slowly to face the accuser.

" Give me a hand here!" he continued.

"What?" she asked blindly to the man on the coat before her.

" Pug this." The doctor cried forcing Shinobu's hand into a throat wound imitating old faithful. She shook as the redness oozed over her fingers and the doctor tried to save his life. The man's breaths were sharp and painful becoming longer and longer apart until they stopped.

" Damn it!" He screamed slamming his fists on the dead man's unresponsive chest. The doctor just rested there his tears following out form under his eyelids his hands on the body's chest. He then just moved on, there were others who needed his help, as long as he had this job somebody always had and will and right now he had no time to weep for fallen commands. As the doctor left to help others Shinbone stood glued to the spot, her hands covered in blood.

Keitaro slammed his last rocket into Kent's launcher, dropping the carrying cradle from his back. He watched Kent strand up and freeze starring at something over the lip.

"Tank move it!" he screamed franticly scrambling from the trench as if it were small pox. Keitareo and several others followed suit leaping from the hole. It was then Keitaro saw the armored behemoth, barely thirty feet from the line. Knife fighting range to a tank. He only made it a few more steps before the main cannon fired. The shot decimated the position, tearing thought the soil and breaking up on impact with the far wall, spraying hot metal in all directions.

"Keep running!" someone yelled and automatically they ran. No one needed to tell them twice. As the group sprinted across the newly cleared earth towards the protection on the building beyond, Ketaro heard a faint sound, familiar oddly but to distant in the depths of his mind to recall. Like something slicing thought the air, almost chopping at it, like a helicopter! His revelation came far too late, as a line of hot lead flew thought the forward ranks, including Kent. The mechanical bird hovered over her prey leisurely choosing when to strike. Keitaro closed his eyes waiting for his death to descent on him. But it never came. A deafening explosion assaulted his ears and a blast wave knocked him off his feet. Keitaro opened his eyes to large patch of blue sky, across it was a line on traveling through the air, at its lead was a turtle shaped machine. Keitaro wasn't left much time to rest as the rumble of a newly approaching tank was felt through the ground. Keitaro reacted without thought. He rolled to the left picking up Kent's dropped launcher and rising to one knee, He took aim that the mountain of metal and fired. The rocket flew as if guided by fate. It launched out of the tube and entered the tank's lowered barrel. The resulting explosion tossed the 1-ton turret a good 40 feet.

"Move, it" Rossy yelled taken command of the stunned group putting action to words running at the buildings again.

Naru held her breath as the troop on soldiers marched down the street into her line of fire. She let out a ragged breath, pulling in a new one and holding it just as quickly.

"Just pull the trigger." she muttered to herself as the forward ranks leap forward into her sights.

Shirai leaned into the side of his cockpit willing it around its bank faster. He leveled out releasing a missile at the chopper in front of him. He climbed to clear the falling debits and began scanning for a new target.

" Peek-a-boo" he muttered lower the nose at a new enemy, waiting for the lock-on. A series of popping noises echoed thought the airframe. Shirai swung his plane left trying to shake this pilot. Shirai weaved his way across the sky, avoiding volley after volley of bullets.

" Hang in there shirai, I'm coming." Haitani yelled into the mike

" Haitani, get you fat ass over here and shoot this guy…" shirai stopped looking over at his wingman "look out bogie 2o'clock lo…." shirai stared in horror as his Haitani, his dearest friend since childhood disappeared in a high octane fireball. Shirai

Just stared into oblivion as a sidewinder slammed into his aircraft. As the turtle shaped contraption spiraled towards the ground he catch a glimpse of his attacker disintegrate into a fireball of his own. Along with a garbled message over the radio

" Su's come to help too!"

Keitaro curled himself into a tighter ball as the rockets and bullets destroyed the land around the building he and his fellow fighters cowered in, praying to what ever god they believed in for protection.

"Got him" Spook muttered still looking thought the scope on his rifle.

" New target, 40 yards beyond the end of the bridge." the man beside him side looking thought his own tripod scope.

" Found him." spook responded. Motoko sighed looking away from the pair and back down the stairs, at the pair of bodies on the landing in the middle of the stairs. , Their blood still flowing on her sword.

" Quite the day huh?" the man beside her said trying to break the increasingly depressing mood.

" Yes…" she paused momentarily as an expositions rocked the buildings frame. "Very, very long too, it feels like an eternity but the sun hasn't even set yet."

"It's only 5 o'clock." the man continued on.

"5?" Motoko exclaimed " the will be down in a couple of hours" she thought

The man threw up his hand, shutting her up. "If we last that long." He whispered. Shouldering his weapon the man stalked around the stairs balcony the get a better look. He was meet with a rifle burst directly into the chest blowing him backwards and killing him instantly. Motoko froze before leaping of the balcony with a silent rush of air and bringing her sword to bear on an unsuspecting soldier below. She struck him down, spin partly in place swinging with an upper cut severing a second soldier's arm at the shoulder. She then leapt back up over the railing, waiting for the rest of the squad still down stairs.

The tow missile tore the wooden Hinata tea walls into thousands of splintered shrapnel, as it slammed into the building. Those of the command and control that weren't destroyed by the incoming missile and closely fallowed bullets hide behind the bar counter seeking some kind of cover. As the rounds of the helicopter filled the room, smashing the bottles of alcohol on and in the counter. The loud report of Crazy 8 sounded silencing the helicopter into a speedy retreat.

"I know I asked for a drink but this is a bit ridiculous." said somebody farther down the counter. Blade just smirked as shook his head dry and stood up. He wished he hadn't, the bodies of the dead were mutilated beyond recognition, and the equipment was destroyed.

"Blade, Blade come in!" a voice screamed over oddly still working radio. "Blade pick up, you …"

"I'm here Jenn." Blade answered tiredly " there's no need to get testy." he continued almost hearing a sign of release from the mike.

" How bad is it?' Jenn asked, making Blade not to sure weather she meant him or the C. P.

" We're done here, this radio's basically the only piece of anything that's still working in here." Blade admitted. "We are fucked."

"Like that's news." Jenn responded sarcastically. " Well then it looks like a good time for to get your fat butt up here, there's a gift for you."

" Keitaro flinched away from the window as a bullet tore a very loud path through the window frame.

"They're getting closer." Rossy muttered as second burst flew thought the open window.

" We've noticed" Keitaro muttered nodding his head to the other 4 mean gathered in the house. The survivors of both the tank and the helicopter attack. Ross rolled over Keitaro and few feet more just beyond resting in front of a hole blown in the wall. He brought a pair of binoculars to his eyes.

" Just when you think it can't get any worst." he said

"What?" Keitaro said, in a pleading tone.

" The regular tank battalions are crossing the bridge. And we're scattered all to shit. I can't even contact the unit next door." Rossy paused momentarily, in thought. " Hey is the radio still working?"

" Ya it is." Answered the soldier carrying it.

" Broken Arrow." Rossy said looked over at the man to assure he was making the transmission. The soldier shook his head as if to rejoin reality and brought the mouthpiece up.

"Broken Arrow! I say again Broken Arrow!" he yelled into the radio.

" All right boys," Rossy said moving into a kneeing position "begin retreat."

Su jerked her plane into a steep climb narrowly avoiding the sidewinder aimed at her. She rolled over nosing down back at the air battle behind. They were losing, badly most of these guys were just local pilots, small engine bush planes and gliders, they didn't have a clue, but they were going for it anyway. Su waited for her multiple target acquisition and engagement system to lock on, before unleashing the remains of her arsenal. She smirked in the workman ship of her weapons as each and every missile reached out and touched the enemy.

"Perfect." she muttered to herself. Su jerked against her harnesses as her plane rose on the furnish hot air of a large ground bound Anti air rocket. Su tried to regain control of her plummeting aircraft, with her unresponsive stick. She stopped as she found the reason for the unresponsiveness; there was nothing to respond to. Her entire left wing was gone, along with most of the fuselage. "I'm sorry Keitaro, everyone," she thought as her plane spiraled at the ground, "I just couldn't do enough." with a single tear sliding down her cheek Su reached between her crouch and pulled the ejection lever.

Shirai struggled to keep his Tama in the air as it shook underneath him like a baby's rattle. This poor contraption had been on its last legs twice as long as it's pilot had. Its ordnance long spent, then chain gun was even empty. The engines no long held the strength to climb at all never mind the fumes it was using for gas.

" Looks like this is it. Shirai said into the empty airwaves. He hadn't been able to reach anyone of a half hour. Shirai cleared the trees on the riverbank catching a glance up river. He saw the bridge loaded with enemy personal. When the thought popped into his head at he thought he was crazy, then he agreed with him self as he angled his flying turtle up stream.

" Well Haitani old friend, I hope you saved me a seat in Valhalla," he said to the sky. Shirai 's last thought before he slammed into the bridge's center pylon was something somebody told him a long time ago. _"_ _Sometimes you don't need to step forward to be a hero, everyone else just has to step back."_

Keitaro paused at the sound of the collapsing bridge slamming into the water, starring at the rising cloud of dust and water. He looked away just as quickly continuing his run towards his leapfrog point. He took a knee scan his cone as Ross ran past him followed by a second soldier. He counted to 40 before getting up and passing Rossy and then the second soldier in turn, they continued no up the street in this fashion, to columns of 3 2 men always covering the rear. Keitaro was running to the front of the group when a burst gunfire from the next street sent everyone earthward out of reflex. It took several seconds to realize the rounds weren't directed at them. Mostly because as the fire picked up from scattered shots to a deafening roar not a single muzzle flash was to be seen or a bullet heard. In response heavy cannon fire was heard ramming itself into the pavement and the panicked screaming of retreating men drifted over the buildings. Beyond the structures a large biped turtle strolled into view burping machine gun fire from its right chest plate.

"Looks like we have a chance now." Keitaro announced to the group, although on some level or another every man present already new that.

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Well that's for now. Till next time anyway.

Please leave a review, flames something. It really is annoying to put this up and not get any feed back. Thanks. ;)


	10. Cost

Disclamer: see earlier enteries

i don't really feel like talking so let's just get started

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When the sky gets dark enough, one may see the stars.

The cool damp air threatened to pour rain on of the survivors of the previous hour's battle. The sun was setting a vibrant red, as if to show respect for the fallen. Despite this morbid beauty of the season most people present weren't very interested in it. Their attention was more closely focused to the task of scraping some amount of cover from the ruins that surrounded the Hinatasou. Thought an odd combination of retreat paths, enemy attacks and a large amount of change the Hinata and the land surrounding it was now home to some 600 people. The town's last defenders.

Blade rested his weary soul against the machine he had ridden in for the past hours. It was amazing what humanity in general, never mind what that adolescent could produce. This be-damned machine this had taken at lest three major hits from antitank rounds and the only evidence of the shots were some rather nasty looking dents in the armor. This said these turtle-like wonder weapons were far from invincible. Of the original 8, 5 remained.

Blade pulled a cigarette out of his chest pocket lighting it with his borrowed lighter. He took a long drag exhaling out his nose, watching the fumes drift slowly away into the breeze.

"Those are going to catch up to you one day." A voice said from behind the leg he was resting on.

"I'll worry about someday if I survive today." Blade responded rolling his head against the metal to watch Jenn slide down into a sitting position. She stared off into space for a moment before continuing.

"Josh hasn't come back yet."

"Josh?" Blade puzzled of this for a second "Oh Spook, relax the kid always shows up sooner or later."

"Sooner or later?" Jenn asked almost in outrage. "He's your friend!"

"He's also Spook." Blade basically snorted in response. , Taking a puff from his cancer stick. "People die Jenn…"

"What!?" Jenn yelled at him standing up in front of him anger seething off her. Blade unfazed calmly removed the cigarette from his month and asked her to

"Please let him finish his sentence. People die Jenn, but fortunately for us your brother is not a person. He is a fucking shadow. The planet earth could come to an end is very second, and there him and 6 cockroaches."

"Well um, thank you." Jenn stammered really unsure how the respond to that.

"No problem." Blade muttered back. He signed briefly before flicking away the butt of his cigarette. "Time to go, I've got things to do." He said trying to stand up with a bit of groaning.

"No you don't." Jenn countermanded, forcing him back onto the ground. "You're at your limit Jason. What you need is a half-way descent meal and some sleep."

"I'm fine Jenn." Blade countered successfully standing up this time groins and all. "I know how far I can go."

"You now how far you think you can go. I know you too well for that." Jenn responded with a menacing undertone. "You haven't sleep in over 22 hours, and you've been fighting for 5 or 6, and I know you haven't eaten much, if at all."

"I ate; HQ was in a Café of sorts… I am hungry though." Blade finished rubbing his stomach.

He shook his head to regain control over his empty stomach.

"I've got to go." Blade said turning away. Jenn watched Blade walk off signing wistfully, a grim look set into her face.

"Your going to get yourself killed Jay." She spoke to Blade's retreating back. Jenn turned her head looking over the shattered city. "Maybe we already have."

Keitaro franticly scanned the area trying to find someone, any one from the Hinata. All he saw was tired faces covered in filth. He could have passed every one of them without noticing and he knew it. He stumbled into the Hinata and the many strange people there. Being one of the only building left soundly standing within a safe distance, it and become a magnet for tried men and women seeking shelter. They lay were they fell to exhausted to move any more than necessary. Keitaro passed them by without any thought. He wandered thought the upper floors checking all the rooms. Hoping to find their normal occupants, all he found was strangers and fear. Keitaro stumbled down stairs into the kitchen; he leaned against the counter despair filling him.

"Where are they?" he said aloud

"They're not here." A voice came from the dinning room. Keitaro leaned forward to see who was speaking. "I am though." Blade continued "but I'm willing to bet you weren't looking for me."

" No, not specifically Keitaro answered walking into the room. Blade was sitting at the head of the table his back to Keitaro, hunched over and resting his head on his arched hands before him.

"At least you're honest." Blade continued watching Keitaro sit down beside him. Keitaro looked like hell had frozen over. There was a dim on his normally cheery attitude that was best compared to the difference between a diamond and coal. Keitaro's arms were almost totally wrapped in field dressings protecting fresh injuries, some were still bleeding. "Poor soul" Blade thought to himself unaware of his equally shabby state.

"So why are you here?" Keitaro asked resting his head in his arms and rubbing his tiredness from his face.

"The same reason you are I suppose, hoping against reality that you and the girls might show up, might still be alive." Blade said, rubbing his eyes.

"Might?" Kietaro demand/inquired, too spent to raise his voice.

"Might. We took over 85 casualties." Blade answered his guilt weighting on his voice. "The odds that even one of you survived are… well slim to none to be polite. And then where you all were didn't really help."

"What's that mean?" Keitaro asked. Blade stared into Keitaro's eyes debating if his right to know out-weighted his ability to cope.

"Well for starters, you Naru and Motoko, were all front line combatants, Kitsune is well a fox who knows were she was when the line broke. And Shinobu was at the field hospital. That's well behind enemy lines right now. Not many people made it here and now we're hurting medicine wise." Blade stopped leaning back in his chair.

"What about Su?" Keitaro pushed.

" MIA, she was shot down. The only pilot that made it back said about a half dozen chutes made in down with him." Blade answered grief (or was it worry) showing thought for one quick second.

The room was silent for a minute before Keitaro spoke again.

"So now what?" he asked. Blade grunted in confusion. "I followed you into this mess, and I'll follow you out, so now what? After we find the girls of course."

Blade smiled a sad deep smile "if we find any girls, and not much we're pretty much stuck."

"Stuck?" Keitrao asked

"Stuck, we're surrounded on all sides. We are not going anywhere soon. The best we can do is sit it out and wait." Blade answered Keitaro's face shrunken up in thought for a minute all most leaping over the table in excitement.

"If we're surrounded we can't do anything to hurt them, and means they're not going to waste men attacking!" Blade surprised Keitaro had thought of it at all, shook his head in polite disagreement.

"We're still a threat; we have to be even if we're no longer combat effective." Keitaro looked on waiting on an explanation. "How badly do you think we hurt them Keitaro? How many did we kill?"

"I don't know, 1, 2 thousand." He answered.

"At least. The problem is they can afford to take those kinds of causalities. Their plan in theory will work with 10 of their forces. There was never a chance of victory; it was simply a delaying action. We never had any chance of winning Keitaro they out number us 3 to 1. The question is time we just don't have enough."

"Looks pretty bad." Keitaro muttered

"It looks like the fucking Alamo." Blade grumbled

" Alamo?" Keitaro asked.

"A long time ago a group of a 150 men where surrounded in an old monastery, they where cut off and besieged for several days. In the end the enemy got tired of waiting and attacked."

"What happened to them?" Keitaro asked.

"They all died." Blade responded

"Pity." Keitaro commented looking Blade dead in the face his eyes still holding a mildly happy glint. Blade starred back at him almost disgusted. He stood up saying

"Keitaro you are a fucking nitwit." leaving Keitaro to his disillusioned fantasies.

Blade was passing thought the door as he bumped into to someone.

"Sorry." He said not really looking at the person. He did a double take when he finally did "Shinobu!" he yelped.

"Come quick." She whizzed out gasping for breath. "Naru's hurt."

Seto glared distastefully at the volunteer commander, his arms full of looted goods and money. He glance at eh women tied to the truck he was running "his" supplies. He then looked back this vile creature, before triggering a round into the center of his skull.

"I would have shot him in the balls." His second in command said walking past him to untie the young ladies.

"I doubt even he was that cruel Jeff." Seto commented. , Poking the corpse with his toe. "Looting is well, an expected part of this job. Hell in this case it's how we feed ourselves, but theft from still present owners, and more importantly kidnapper are far from unacceptable."

"Yes sir but what do we do about the truck and these two." He said cutting the binding robe of the two lady's hands.

"Let them go their not prisoners of ours, and of the truck… leave it. The current owner is not present." Seto decided moving on, his guard in tow. He had forces to examine.

"This isn't good." Blade thought to himself watching the scene before him. It was an image he had become all to accustom to. The open aired hospital filled with scurrying doctors and wounded people. Some left to die of insurmountable wounds. Blade sat on the cot besides Naru and Keitaro. Besides them Kitsune and Shinobu stood, fearfully looking on as Naru battled for every breath she took. She was wrapped up in what seemed miles of bandage, every inch drenched in blood.

"Keitaro…I"

"Shhh. Don't talk" Keitaro soothed. "It'll all be alright. "

"Umm Sir." The voice stared Blade. He jumped turning around to face the speaker. It was a doctor, his white coat stained by hours of work.

"Unless you're in charge I really don't want to speak with you right now." Blade said despair lighting up once stone-like face.

"I am. We really should talk." The doctor said beginning to move off a fair distance.

"About your friend…"

"I already know how bad it is." Blade snapped at him, "I've seen this before. She'd have a chance in a real hospital, not in this excess for an aid station." Blade looked away, wiping water from his eyes. "How bad is it?" he continued

"Well she's …"

"No damn it! How bad is it here! How many? How bad? How many can I put back on the fucking line!?" Blade bellowed, his anger boiling over. He stared the doctor down towering over him like the empire state building. He breathed in deeply and evenly regaining his control and composure.

"Sorry." He grunted briefly. "Bad habit." The doctor looking back at him with a look of pure sympathy.

"There are about 300 or some here at the moment, but most are walk-ons from the retreat."

"Walk-ons?" Blade thought for a moment digesting the terminology. He looked up when the doctor pointed at a group men and women walking away from the hospital, wrapped up in minor way or another and rejoining the "front" 200 yard away. "Walk-ons" Blade said again nodding in understanding.

"About ½ are too injured to fight and of those, I'm only expecting a 1/3 to survive the night, less if it rains."

"It'll rain." Blade countered looking up at the darkening dusk sky. "Probably before nightfall."

"Hunch?" the doctor speculated.

What ever bad that can happen will at the worst possible time." Blade answered still looking at the sky. "Why haven't you move the wounded inside yet?" Blade continued, glancing woefully at Naru.

"The only major building still standing on this hill is that one." The doc thumbed at the Hinata Inn. "And it's the tallest building standing, and on the top of a hill to boot. Putting anything in there is just asking for it."

"It's still better than leaved people to die out in the rain." Blade argued.

"True but still…"

" hey hold on, if memory serves me right I think there's a cave in the back, if the cave goes back as far as I think it does, it should serve our proposes."

"Cave!" The Doctor interjected, dumbfounded "Where and how far."

"Ask him" Blade said pointing at Keitaro. "He's the land lord. The doctor nodded, doing some quick thinking.

"If we can get everyone in there, they may make it. As long as the plasma lasts."

"At the very least they'll be out of the rain." Blade added. "Get moving." The doctor nodded again agreeing. He moved past Blade towards Keitaro.

"At least some things are starting to look up." Rossy said walking up beside his friends having caught the ending half of the conversation.

"Some things. " Blade replied. Watching Keitaro and the rest on the Hinata group get rather animated. "Then again, we all could be dead in the next half hour."

"True, so what's the plan?" Rossy continued

"First you need to talk to Jenn She's absolutely frantic over her brother."

"He's Spook he'll show up. The entire enemy force may be 10 feet behind him, but he'll show up." Rossy said "and why can't you?"

"Because I have other things I need to tend to, and besides I'm doing the same thing on a different front." Blade slide in, glancing back at the Hinata group.

"What about after? We don't have a lot of time to hold hands." Ross snorted back.

"No we don't, but in retrospect, most if any of us are not still going to be here in 24 hours. It won't hurt to play the compassionate for once." Blade finished crossing his arms over his chest.

"You really thing he's going to attack?" Ross asked.

"Yes, if we run a break out, and penetrate even a few hundred yards, we take route 12. It's the only road on this side of the hill that runs to the I-39 on ramp that he can run his tanks on. Otherwise he'll have to use the 389 to exit 2 and he can't spare that kind of time. They need all the time they can squeeze if they find a problem up the road." Blade explained to his already aware friend.

"So we're breaking out?" Rossy offered more or less confirming his understanding of the situation rather than asking a question.

"0100 hours." Blade commanded. , His voice stern and unmoving.

"0100, isn't that too much time?" Rossy asked questioning Blade's sense of current time.

"0100 Ross." Blade answered in a no-your-not- going-deaf tone. "These people need food and rest, I think we spare 7 hours." Blade reprimanded.

"Sorry. Time I found Jen uh?" Rossy announced holding out his hand. Blade took, shaking it vigorously "see ya Ross." Ross nodded, walking away with the quiet understanding that if the enemy did attack, they probably wouldn't see each other again. But then again their entire lives and been like that.

Su winced in pain as she threw her hand against the wall to keep her balance. She breathed in deeply waiting for the jolt to subside.

Shiri asked from behind her, leaning on his makeshift crunch

"Su's fine." She answered. Throwing up a quick smile and slipping under is arm to help him up the stairs. "You on the other hand..." She warned looking up at Shiri's bandaged head.

"I'm alright, when you build something you build it rock solid." Shiri complemented struggling his way up the last couple of stairs. "This should do." He said pointing into an empty bed room. He stumbled into the room, and flopping down on the room, groining when he whacked his leg in the siding.

"Hey take it easy." Su scolded. , Gently placing Shiri's leg on the bed.

"Thanks." He muttered sheepishly. Leaning against the headboard.

"I'll keep a lookout." Su offered.

"Oh no you don't, let's take a look at you." Shiri ordered. , pulling Su onto the bed.

"I'm fine." Su complained

"Bullshit, you've been favoring that arm since you plucked me from the river. Now come on let me treat this." Shiri begged. Su's face turned a slight shade of crimson, residing to the fact that he was right. She turned away from him and pulled the shirt up off her back.

Shinobu sighed as she watched the last remains of the day filter thought the buildings. The streetlights would have been on for a while now if there was any power left to run them. No, she was wrong there where a few on, but they were in random patches, not much help to them at all. Shinobu looked of the remains of the tea house again. Thank god Hurka wasn't here, she'd have a fit. She listened quietly to the sounds of working people around her, digging whatever they could out of the earth. Somewhere nearby someone was playing country music out of a boom box.

"Hey Shinobu." Blade said halfway sneaking up on her.

"Hello Blade, or do you prefer Jason?" She asked.

"I prefer Blade, but they're kind of interchangeable." Blade answered. Coming to a stop beside Shinobu. "How are you feeling?"

"I told you before. I feel fine." Shinobu answered a bit cross.

"Ya and grande is medium in Spanish. I mean it, are you alright?" Blade asked again concern emanating from his shadowy figure.

"I'm alright Blade; I don't have a scratch on me." Shinobu admitted.

"I'm talking about up here; you've had a rough day." Blade continued tapping Shinobu gently on the temple. "It's a lot to take in."

"Stop it; you've got other things to worry about." Shinobu scolded turning away from him and walking towards the Hinata.

"You'd be surprised." Blade said back "everyone's just getting some rest. And so should you."

"Will you knock it off, I don't need to be fussed over, I can take care of myself." Shinobu stated.

"I don't doubt that Shinobu you handled yourself better than most soldiers do, I just know your closer to the edge than you think you are." Blade said his voice dropping a few decibels.

"I' m just peachy, you really should be talking to JENN of all people." Shinobu accused marching into the Hinata.

" Jenn? What does Jenn have to do wi OW! Fuck! Jez that hurts!" Blade exclaimed, pulling his hand of the door frame, and cradling it in his other.

"What? What did you do?" Shinobu asked coming back outside, staring at Blade's shadow.

"I don't know it's too dark out here." Blade stated crossly.

"Then come on in. I'll take a look at it." Shinobu offered heading back inside.

Shinobu flicked on the kitchen light only to have shut off a second later by Blade.

"Not too much light, the last thing we need is to make ourselves targets." Blade ordered.

"Fine." Shinobu answered, having no good counter argument. She walkover to a counter and pulled out a small battery powered lamp for power outages.

"Stay put." She commanded leaving the room. Blade spent several minutes fighting to turn the unfamiliar machine with one hand. As the fuse heated up and dimly lit the room Blade got a good look at the large wooden splinter lodged into his palm. The grumbled momentarily, "figures."

Shinobu reentered the room, a small first aid kit I hand. She placed in on the table, and held out her hand in dictating Blade give her his. He rolled his eyes in slight embarrassment and gave it to her. Shinobu scanned the injury, she pressed her face into and expression of pity and thought, debating how to divert his attention.

"How is Su's walker?" she asked pretending to show actually interest in the subject.

"Uh? Odd question, I really can't tell you to be honest. I wasn't paying much attention to that." Blade confessed. Blade glancing a Shinobu cutting at his hand a bit to get the whole chuck of wood out. He looked away, staring at the fuse of the lamp, drifting into thought. The pair didn't say another word until Shinobu spoke

"done."

"You should be a nurse, I didn't feel a thing." Blade complemented her, gently rubbing his newly repaired hand.

"That wasn't hard, I could have taken your arm and I doubt you'd have noticed" she returned. Putting the tweezers away.

"Maybe." Blade said drifting into thought again.

"So." Shinobu said definitely clamping the case shut. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired." Blade answered almost automatically.

"That's more than a little tired." Shinobu shot back, obviously hurt at being blown off.

"My, how the tables have turned." Blade answered whimsically. "I'll make you a deal, I tell you what I'm thinking and you tell me how you feel." Shinobu regarded him closely for a minute.

"All right I guess, you first."

"No you first, it's my deal." Blade argued.

"Hey that's no fair." Shinobu complained. "It was your idea." Blade looked at the floor before reaching into his pocket.

"About this," He said throwing a small wade of paper between them. "It's a casualty report. A couple of accountants are trying to get a full list for after the battle."

"Bad?" Shinobu asked uncertainly. , fearfully picking up the papers.

"Very." Blade confirmed. "We can confirm, over 1400 KIA, via bodies, procured ID's extra, and about 900 wounded, most behind enemy lines at the old hospital."

"That's real bad." Shinobu said flipping thought the pages and pages of names.

"That's not even the real problem, those are only the dead we confirm as of now, in reality, it's more like 2400." Blade explained watching Shinobu lean back in her chair stunned by the sheer numbers.

"2400?" Blade nodded in response

"That's being optimistic." Blade said dipping his head in guilt "and that's not even the kicker. There are 2 entire companies trapped in the town square, we can't get to them."

"2400." Shinobu repeated softly, tears beginning to flow down her face.

"Oh no, no please don't cry, it's not that bad." Blade said weakly watching Shinobu tremor with every breath. "It could be a lot worst." Blade watched his feeble attempts to cheer Shinobu up float off into nothingness.

"Shinobu?" Blade said reaching slowly across the table and gentle grasping his hand over hers.

"Get away from me!" Shinobu screamed at him, jerking her hand away and standing up "just leave me alone, Blade!"

"But."

"No! Just go away!" She screamed back, running out of the room openly crying.

Shinobu collapsed in her room. Surrounded by its childhood things and memories. She curled up closer to the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. , soaking them with her tears.

"Shinobu?" Blade asked framed in the door way.

"I said go away." Shinobu growled threateningly. Blade ignored her sitting down beside her. He looked at her. Shinobu stared back and without a word Blade reached out and wrapped his arms around her. Wrapping her up as tightly as he could. Shinobu buried her face into his chest and cried. Out of her tears she bore her pain, her sorrow, and her fear. She cried until she made her self thistly, and then cried more.

"Shh." Blade cooed. Gently rocking her back and forth. "It will all be just fine"

Shinobu didn't say anything back. She just nodded against his chest. Moving her check to a dryer part of Blade's shirt.

"Will this ever be over?" Shinobu whimpered. Her throat still rough.

"It will, but you don't need to worry. You'll die far from here in a nice warm bed. A very happy grandmother" Blade offered, stroking Shinobu's hair. "Hey I'll tell you what, when this is all over we'll get everyone together and throw a party."

"Blade" Shinobu began, never looking up at him. "Thank you." Blade smiled had held her even tighter. As the final twilight fell from the sky casting the earth into total darkness, blade felt Shinobu's grasp loosen and her breaths become deep and regular. Blade shifted her over just a hair to get blood back into his sleeping arm. He looked into the darkness, not really having much else to do. He felt drowsiness beginning to over him. Blade sighed resting his head on Shinobu's feeling her hair tickle his cheek. "Maybe" Blade thought to himself "someone will find the right in protecting an angel." Blade let this thought penetrate his mind as he drifted to sleep.

Seto growled in anger, his nearly reaching the boiling point. Civilians or not how could anyone be so careless with any enemy. Seto again looked over the grizzly scene of eh barbaric aid station, it was a hospital or what was left of it. The wounded were scattered about the ground waiting for any aid. Most only helped by close friends. Seto shook, his rage rising up again.

"Sir? What do we do?" Jeff asked grimacing at the scene.

"We attack, we can't allow the enemy to regroup," Seto reasoned. " We strike at midnight."

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Please leave a review. thank you.


	11. rage amongest friends

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1, I really should reprint it, but I'm just feeling lazy right now.

Ok for anyone read up to this point, sorry for the really long delay, I just had no will to write lately.

Other than that same a before, sorry of any spelling/grammar mistakes.

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"Who goes there?" the man cried out in alarm as a sound came from just beyond his position.

"Get that damn rifle out of my face before I ram it where the sun don't shine." Spook growled back clamoring over the rubble with Motoko quickly following after him.

"Who's on charge here?" he asked angrily, dusting him self off and looking about at the "lost company". The park was littered with men trying to A get some sleep or B watch the perimeter.

"Don't know" the solider answered. "We're kind of jumbled."

"Well then it looks like your lucky day," Spook answered cinchy "I seem to have seniority…."

Blade stood in the entranceway of the Hinatasou, staring blankly out into the black oblivion of night. He sighed at both his thoughts and the lack of view. He heard footsteps behind him so he stepped aside to allow who ever it was to pass. He looked over his shoulder when no one walked by.

"Hey you two," Blade said acknowledging Jenn and Rossy.

"You really look depressed." Jenn observed walking up and pulling herself against him. Blade didn't respond just continuing to lean on the door frame and stare outward.

"Is there any reason for me not to be?" Blade asked letting his head hit the door frame with a loud thwack. "A lot of people died today."

"That happens in war man." Rossy countered.

"I know that." Blade shot back crossly. "How many didn't have to?"

"This coming from the man that said there is no room for emotions in war." Jenn responded sarcastically

"There is no room to act on them." Blade quoted himself, kind of hurt at being that miss interpreted. "It's impossible not to feel them." There was a silence following that thought that cut through the trio like a hot knife thought butter.

"Hey how's that friend of yours? Naru was it?" Rossy said ideally trying to break the quietness.

"I don't think she's going to make it. In all honesty it's a miracle in itself that she lasted this long. With the amount of lead she took, something important had to have been hit." Blade concluded, he sighed heavily, uncrossing his arms and wrapping one around Jenn's waist. "Just like old times huh?"

"Yup exactly like old times." Rossy said crossly grimacing into the ground.

"They send us out, only us core come back." Jenn finished for him. Blade nodded unseen in the dark

"That's how it works, but what the hell maybe we'll get lucky." Blade said hopefully. "Maybe a few more will come back this time, or maybe the army…" Blade stopped, realizing he was rambling. "It's hopeless"

"When is it not?" Jenn countered

"Ya man, we've all ways faced thousand to 1 odds." Rossy added trying to cheer Blade up just a little.

"True but it's always been on someone else's turf. Not here, not in front of our homes. These people beside us aren't soldiers, they're civilians, they're everyday men and women, they have lives and families. They have something to defend, something to hold on to. In the end I guess that makes this all the more valiant an effort, but when it's all over the results are always the same. People fight, one side wins or loses, and people die. It's the way of the world works I guess but still hurts." Blade bespoke, removing his arm from Jenn, and stepping forward into the open a few paces.

"Well that's the only thing that sets us apart." Ross continued Blade's speech "that we ignore it. We cut out the fear and the pain and just do it, keep going on despite whatever part of us doesn't want to. We move pass the grief of the dead and the fear and just….. Get the job done." Blade let this soak in, simply nodding in answer. Blade sighed and moved off out of sight. Never saying a word.

Kitsune wore her fear and pain openly on her face as she watched the scene before her. The cave was littered with the dead and wounded. She stood where her feet lay surrounded by those battling for their last breaths on this earth. The soil was stained red but even in this sea of tragedy and despair hope and humanity shone through. Beside most cots where a comforting face and a hand to hold, some friends and family, but for the most part complete strangers, men and women who had meet only hours ago on the field of battle.

Kitsune looked back at the damsel she had force her eyes away from. Naru lay on a cot wrapped up in fresh dressings and not looking any better. Her breaths were quick and harsh. The bandages were not holding on to even a hint of the white they used to be, and twice she had coughed up blood. You didn't need to be a doctor to know that was never a good sign.

"Naru" Keitaro whispered softly, grasping her hand for dear life. Almost as if he was trying to strangle back into it. "Come on now hang in there." Naru rolled her eyes a pone him, a gentle glaze in them, a combination of love and massive blood loss, mostly love. All she did was smile.

"She's not going to make it." Blade whispered in Kitsune's ear. She wheeled about turning on him

"How can you say that?" she screamed. There was a loud clapping noise as Blade blocked he slap. They stayed like that just staring at each other. Tears freely flowing down Kitsune's grim and dirty face, and all of Blade's emotion and pain locked behind a steely expression.

"Because it's true."

"What's true?" Keitaro asked looking utterly exhausted. Naru looked over at them, moving from Kitsune to Blade, some fear but mostly understanding and resignation in her face. She already new her fate. Blade looked away, shame racing through his veins.

"Keitaro." Naru whispered weakly. "I…. just wanted to…" Blade just walked away, unable to stay in their presence any longer. Blade left the cave tears threatening to drown his eyes. Blade paced back in forth in front of the cave. His arms crossed over his chest. Blade leaned against the wooden frames of the doors, sliding slowly to the ground. The sat there for what felt like forever, just gazing at the ground.

"Blade?" a voice pierced the night, showing concern for the man crumpled in the doorway. Blade refused to look up. He didn't process the will; to face anyone, especially her of all people.

"Blade?" Shinobu asked again, crouching in front of him. "Talk to me." Blade continued to stare at the ground, now occupied by Shinobu's feet.

"You'd better hurry, I doubt Naru's going to last any longer." Blade told her, continuing to look at the ground. Shinobu looked into the depths of the cave; she stood up to take off "come on." She commanded

"No. I've see enough death for one lifetime, hurts enough when it's a stranger." Shinobu tilted her head quizzically in silence, demanding a fast answer. Blade looked up at her, staring blankly into her eyes, he broke his lock and stared at the ground again. "I'm very familiar with death Shinobu, hell I've played gin with the Grim Reaper once or twice. That doesn't make any more bearable, just survivable." Blade paused letting out a breath, "In the time I've been here you guys have become a family to me, I just care to damn much to watch one of you go." Shinobu nodded and walked away, disappearing into the cavern, not truly understanding what he was saying.

"Well I really don't give a fuck for whatever your piety excuse is we are moving when I say so." Spook growled angrily at the man opposite him in the dark

"But…" the man's protests were cut short by the sound of Motoko's sword clearing its sheath and gently resting on his neck. "… Ok whatever I don't care anymore. Their deaths are on your hands." He answered; the man slowly backed away from the katana and vanished into the darkness.

"That went well." Motoko said sarcastically putting her weapon away.

"Yup." Spook replied turning to face the group that had watched the whole exchange from a respectable distance.

"I just hope they'll listen to orders now."

"No that's not going to do," Blade countermanded, looking up from his place on the ground. "We have a little more than an hour left until we move. We need as much firepower as we can muster. If we can't break through t as least to the roadway we might as well just shoot ourselves and save the enemy the trouble." The soul that had delivered the report shoulders slumped

"That's all we can get sir." The woman answered.

"Well it isn't enough, go tell Ross I need more or we can scrape this whole endeavor." Blade answered crossly. The woman hesitated then bowed and took off. Blade watched the young lady walk off. "She's young," Blade thought "or I that just me? She could be 20 for all I know." Blade looked into the cave searching for the echoing footsteps issuing from it.

"Kitsune?" Blade asked at the shadowy figure.

"Blade Naru she, she's"

"Gone." Blade finished for her. Kitsune nodded stopping several paces away, tears flowing down her checks in rivers.

"Well" Blade said standing up. "That sucks." He ended distancing himself both mentally and physically. Kitsune stared back at him in shock, anger slowly ebbing into her features.

"Oh come off it Kitsune, what the hell am I suppose to do! Wallow in my own self pity? Cry and blubber like a child, none of us can afford to do that now! She is gone, get over it and move on. There is nothing any of us can do to bring her back"

"Do you feel anything at all?" Kitsune asked barely keeping her rage in check.

"I try not to, but that's truly impossible isn't it?"

"Blade you are a true despicable human being." Kitsune clenched and unclenched her hands.

"Maybe that's what makes me different, why I keep coming back." Blade stood up sticking his hands in his pockets, he turned to walk away.

"How can this not bother you Blade? This is just so…"

"Unfair?" Blade shoot back almost as a cruse. "She had a nice life, a peaceful one at least and she was so knocked up on painkillers she shouldn't of felt much pain if anything at all. She still had her child hood, and this hell hadn't become her life I call that pretty fair." Kitsune opened and closed, unable to say anything.

"There is no such thing as fair. The only fairness in life is that we all get dealt a hand at birth, and a chance to play it." Blade said turning away again.

"How could you…" Blade turned back to face the speaker. "How could you, turn your back on a friend like that?" Kietaro demanded. "How can you feel nothing at all?" Blade observed him quietly, him, Kitsune and Shinobu hiding in their shadows.

"She was already lost Keitaro, their was nothing I could of done or any benefit I could of given by being there. I'm a fighter, not a damn doctor." Blade looked at the ground, burning a hole into the dirt. "And when push comes to shove I cared too much to watch her die, just how I am."

"How can you care? You we're even there!" Keitaro accused "is their no heart in your chest?" Blade threw his head up staring Keitaro down through the darkness.

"Your blaming the wrong man Keitaro, I didn't pull that trigger." Keitaro's eyes narrowed and Shinobu looked from person to person, Sempi, Kitsune, Blade and Sempi again. "And you're trying to pin your guilt on the wrong man as well, I stopping feeling it long ago, along with other things." Blade smirked, it only lasted a second bought on by some happy memories. Keitaro shivered in anger, all of his emotions boiling to the surface.

"You heartless son of a bitch!" Keitaro screamed at him, charging Blade "Do you do but kill and destroy?" Kietaro's punch was cupped in Blade's palm.

"No." he said calmly, quietly so only he could hear him. Blade socked in response, following closely with a fist to the stomach and a shoulder into the chin. Kietaro sprawled across the ground, bleeding from his lip and nose. Keitaro lay on the ground, breathing heavy and heated, pinching his nose closed to stop the bleeding.

"Your angry and that's not going to get you anywhere, except maybe dead." Blade lectured. "She is gone Keitaro. Get up, and move on. There is no point or reason to dwell on bad memories and what if's. pick your happiest memories of her and hold on to them, because those are all you have left. All any of us have left of the dead" And with that blade walked away, leaving Keitaro and the others behind him.

Blade rounded the bend of the Hinatasou strolling into what was the front yard. Now it resembled its past look about as well as it did the surface of the moon. Potted with foxholes, craters, and covered in tired people. Blade sighed wearily drinking in what he could by dim house lights casting their warmth and comfort vainly into the deepened night. Blade slowing stepped his way around the exhausted shadows on the ground, making his way as far from the cave as he could. A lighting bolt lit the scene close enough for the bolt shape to be seen in the sky, immediately followed by its thunderclap. The rain poured down in such heavy sheets that dogs and cats would seek cover. Anybody in the open was soaked to the bone within seconds, those who didn't run to shelter rolled over and went back to sleep.

Blade turned his face skyward, letting the rain strike his face and roll off his body, drowning his sorrows and troubles. It felt good to let go, if only a little. In the cover of night masked by the rain on his cheeks Blade cried. His tears mixing with the rainwater and the grief he could never admit to.

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Ok that was originally part of the last chapter, but it kind of grew into its own here.

Please leave a review, maybe if I get one it won't take 21/2 months to write the next chapter.


	12. End Game

Disclaimer: see first chapter, I'm feeling lazy again.

Ok yet again to anyone reading this I'm sorry for the lateness I have no excess. To be honest I've being sitting on this for about a week and if not for Berretta Pakin mailman's reminder I would have sat on it another week before finishing the last page and proofreading it. As inept as I am at it.

Ok same as before i apologise for my spelling/grammer they both still need work. And for the record ShinboneShinobu. I've done it before and I think I didn't this time but just in case.

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The rain covered the soldier's footsteps as he moved though the dark air. He crawled up behind a pile of ruble that was once a house, peering over the edge. The minimal lighting from the Hinatasou silhouetted the people defending the high ground. The solider watched the shadows carefully examining all that he could in a quick peek over the top. He crouched back down, turning around slowly to not make any noise; he raised his arm into the light and waved it around as rapidly as he could. The flapping appendage caught the attention of a half wake man up on the hill, who raised his rifle to his shoulder and cried out an alarm. It was too little too late. A whistle sounded in the distance and hundreds of men rose up to assault the fragile line around Hinatasou.

The bullets zinged though the air destroying many men standing in the open. Blade ducked low and ran crouched over to his fighting walker, amongst the mass of people running to and fro, searching for cover and desperately trying to repeal the attack. Blade threw himself at the ground as the rapid putt-putts of a submachine gun fired on him. Several men fell to the ground around him, some taking cover, others taking their last breaths. A woman landed on top of Blade, with a line of holes running up her body. The rain of lead stopped suddenly and Blade lifted the corpse off of him and ran forward again. He heard the cracks of rifles behind him and guessed the enemy shooter was killed because he never answered. Blade blocked out the battle and ran all out to his Tama walker, praying to whatever gods were watching this gladiatorial match that the enemy didn't reach it first.

Keitaro shielded his eyes from the flashes of nearby explosions. The din of battle was deafening to the unaccustomed ears. To Keitaro now it was…. unpleasant. A bullet zipped by his head lodging it's self in a support beam behind him, the roar of his comrade's return fire was ear shattering, to unaccustomed ears. The poor soul was ripped to shreds, his cloths were turned into ribbons by the sheer volume of fire, his flesh was turned into pudding. Kietaro saw all of this with dispassionate eyes. His soul was too spent to care about anything. He picked his carbine off the ground, disengaging the safety he looked back out of the cave. "Naru's dead, all my friends will be dead if not already, my home is gone, never really had a future…." Keitaro said calmly to the field of death. "I have nothing left to lose." Keitaro held up one second before running out of the cave with the next group of men rushing to the field of battle, fully expecting death to come within the hour.

Blade ducked and zig-zaged around bodies, holes and bullets trying desperately to reach the cockpit of his walker. The trip seemed like it had taken an entirety, but finally the machine was in sight. He slammed into the metal leg, nearly trampling the people crowded around it in its defense.

"What kept you!" Rossy cried out, firing shots at the flashes in the dark, the men surrounding Ross followed his aim and fired along it.

"Got hung up." Blade yelled over the noise, placing a foot on the first rung up to the cockpit, "Ross take all the men you can to reinforce and extend the right flank, we're going to get swamped if they punch a hole through."

"No shit Sherlock!" Rossy exclaimed back at him like an upset child "we're still going to die if you don't get your ass up that ladder and do the hard stuff!" Rossy continued to yell at Blade a near smirk on his face.

"Hard stuff?" Blade yelled climbing one rung higher "I blow shit up, and make sure important shit don't get blown up. I have the easiest job on the planet."

"Except for the people shooting at you part!" Jenn butt in "You get up there and you watch your self you hear me? And I mean both of you" Jenn scolded over the roar of gunfire. Blade smirked and turned away starting to climb the ladder. He heard a sound like several spikes going through a ripe watermelon, and his pant leg was soaked. Blade looked down and saw Jenn's corpse, leaning like she was resting against the walker's leg, expect for the large hole in the back of her head, and the head matter sprayed over everyone present. Blade stared at the body in total disbelief. He started to climb once again, watching the body as long as he could.

Blade slid into the chair and initiated the start-up program, in took about a minute. As the machine hummed and its panels began to glow, Blade oblivious stared at the view screen, in encircled him 210 degrees, allowing the pilot to see as if a glass bubble was around them not 8 inches of armor. The screen light up flashing thought its visual modes, thermal, radar, normal magnified, before settling into the preset slightly green tint of minor light amplification as the screen said, it was just a fancy work for night vision. In the center of the screen flashed, time to combat maneuvers, 20 seconds, 19, 18, 17….

"I guess you were right Jenn, gotta watch my back." He said to the spirits of the dead, friend and foe. "We're not invincible, but I was a fool to think this was just a test of morality, a chance to earn my redemption. Hell maybe I did." Blade fell silent as the count hit zero and cross hairs appeared in the screen. " I was a fool" he said again . I made a mistake, and hope humanity will forgive me, I hope they forgives me, she forgives me. If they do then may be there is some honor in what I am." Blade slipped his hands into the control nobs and scanned the screen. He spyed a line of men, takeing cover form Blade's men in an ditch once held by defenders. Cover from the men shooting at them, not the mech watching them like a vulture. "we're all going to die." Blade said to his enemy "and we're going to take some of you with us." Blade smiled a freal, evil smile. A smile loaned to him by the gods of war. Blade pulled the triggers.

Kietaro leaped out of his hole running full speed to the second defense line. He slide behind the remains of a wall, beside a group of men and women, trying to hold the right flank. Keitaro leaned around the corner and squeezed of a burst at the muzzle flashes in the distance. They had the advantage the defenders were silhouetted but the burning lights of Hinatasou. Bullets flew at Kietaro guided by his shadow. He ducked back behind the safety of the wall.

"We can't stay here." A man yelled over the noise. "They're going to start rolling us with tanks soon "we need to take the first line back. There's a 90 mm recoilless rifle with a night sight on the right." A second added

"Where?" Keitaro demanded.

"Over in the building." The man pointed "it has a machinegun nest for watching its back."

"I can get there if you cover me!" Keitaro informed him.

"Cover you? The man said all most insulted "I'm going with you!" behind him several more nodded in agreement.

"Only if you can keep up." The man smiled, all most beaming at Kietaro.

"Get ready." The man pressed himself against the wall ready to run around it. The order came to cover the 4-some, and they ran. Keitaro ran with the ferocity of a berserker. The rounds ripped the air apart around them, sucking the oxygen out of the air. The death bearing metal seeked him out eagerly but never found Keitaro. He slide into the trench, alone. Keitaro quickly sought out the cannon, loading a five round clip. Pressing his face into the night vision scope, he saw soldiers scrambling around under the blanket of night. He swung the barrel left to right before finding his target. An idle tank, waiting for the infantry to move so they could charge the pathetic ramble of defenders. It was the first of 4 or 5 in a line.

"Peek-a-boo." Keitaro announced, smiling like a cat catching his prey. The 90 mm slug Kietaro fire passed through the side armor of the crew compartment. It ricocheted around before penetrating the ammunition hold. The explosion leveled any thing within twenty feet and burned brightly for hours, lighting the aim for his comrades and showing the way to Keitaro's next target.

Shinobu cling to the rock wall of the cave like it was a hard cold teddy bear. Her tears furrowed paths down her checks in their paths to the ground.

"I wannta go home." She sniffed out between gabs of air "I wannta go home!" a rocket strike the outside of the cave sending tremors racing down the wall. Shinobu was thrown off the wall on to the ground. She laid there a while, on wanting to move an inch right now. She was tired. Tired of the fighting, tired of helping, tired watching, men and women die in her arms with no hope at all. She just wanted to sleep where she lay and never wake up again.

"Hey kid." Shinobu feel a gentle pressure on her shoulder, a nudging to arise. "Are you all right? Did you hit your head?" the voice inquired gently, Shinobu lifted her head slowly, cautiously. Her eyes meet the face of an RN. The face of the middle aged nurse, she was wore and just as tired as her, but she kept going. Shinobu peered into the depths of the woman's eyes, drawing hope and strength from them. Shinobu rose to her feet, she could sleep later.

Keitaro fire the clip's last shot, a strange contentment falling over him as the tank erupted into fire, and smoke, lighting the night's sky. He dropped to the ground, feeling around the ground for a second clip of rounds. He heard the sound of lose ground falling onto it's self and a rifle burst about 3 feet from his head. He whipped around raising carbine. He aimed at a woman her cloths were dirty and covered in blood.

"You should pay more attention landlord." She said mockingly.

"Kitsune!" Keitaro cried in relief. "I though you were all dead by now!" he added loading the recoilless rifle and pulling the bolt.

"Not all of us." She answered simple, "and I brought friends." Keitaro looked over his shoulder as a man rushed past him to man the machinegun nest placed in the building to his right. All down the trench people swarmed over it like ants. Filling the positions and remanning the line.

"The more the merrier." Keitaro answered happily aiming down range again. The found a truck, and fire on it. The first shot missed but the second one nailed the read axle. He found out another truck and destroyed it as well. Unable to find anymore vehicles Keitaro fired on anything else that moved. He hadn't the chance to bend down before Kitsune reloaded his cannon for him.

"I hope the army show up soon we can't hold out much longer." Kitsune said in-between Keitaro's shots.

"The army's not coming." Keitaro said staring at the weapon for a second before continuing. Kitsune watched Keitaro almost dumbfounded.

"You're just being pessimistic."

Blade fired blindly into the dust cloud created by the falling Walker that had been covering his left. The bullets parted the smoke, killing several men trying to jump the downed pilot. Blade's warning alarm went off like a church bell in his ear. It had picked up a large metal object. Blade spun his machine around as an Anti-armor shell passed thought the air he had occupied. Blade raised the arms and fired a 100mm canon shell back at the offending tank. There was no time to celebrate as an RPG rammed into Blade's back. The rocket nudged Blade's walker enough for Blade to get thrown against his harness. He turned back around and saw the shooter perched in the open cockpit hatch. The man inside was gone. Blade unleashed his full arsenal on the downed walker. When he saw no one moving he stepped over it and moved on down the line a little bit. Several tanks took pot shops at him but they were all eliminated with the TOW missiles in the shoulder racks. He parked himself where ever there was a fight, but he was stopping less and less towards the left. Actually from the left center over. Blade looked in that direction, scanning with all the power his walker could spare. He picked up a massive amount of metal.

"Conscripts don't have that kind of armor…." Blade said aloud as he looked. He just caught sight of a low ground flash and an exposition from the back of a walker's head. A calm well aimed shot. "Oh Shit." Blade said quietly. The entire attack was a decoy. The enemy and hit the dead center with their regulars, their professional soldiers. The left flank was gone, surrounded and destroyed.

"All units fall back to D-line!" Blade ordered into his radio "I say again all units fall back, the enemy is though the main line is breached! Everybody…" that's as far as he got, a rocket slammed into the cockpit knocking Blade out cold.

Blade slowly opened his eyes, setting his jaw against the throbbing of his head and the uncomfortable robe around his wrists. Blade looked about at his captors. In the lights the men had set up to read their maps and to fix their broken odds and ends before the last assault, Blade saw one man standing guard and several others around the area busy with things other than the prisoners. In front of him a man with a radio was barking orders to the men around the Hinatasou. Blade shook his head to clear it and listened. He heard gun fire not too far off, he guessed himself to about a quarter mile or so back.

"Your friends are rather resilient." The guard said to him "they're fighting to the bitter end."

"You invaded their country. What did you expect?" Blade sneered

"Political borders are irrelevant; the world has grown too corrupt to survive. It needs cleansing."

"If these people were corrupt they wouldn't be risking their lives by opposing you to defend their home, families, and a country of strangers." Blade curled over with the rifle butt the guard trust into his stomach.

"Lippy bastard." The guard became silent after that. Blade breathed in and out deeply as his wind came back to him. Blade closed his eyes trying to think as the now drizzling rain soaked him further than it had already. Blade felt down his back until he found the razor hidden in his top band of his pants and slowly started cutting.

Keitaro peered over the edge of the window frame into the darkness, the enemy was out there, they'd just stopped shooting for now.

"So now what?" Kitsune said pissed off as all hell

"Don't know." Keitaro answered blowing a bit of his hair out of the way "I wasn't expecting to live this long."

"Well you are so start thinking." Keitaro chose no to answer. "I have and we're all gonna die." Keitaro said, besides them a young man nodded in agreement

"It's just a matter of time now. I just wish we could have stopped them."

"There was never a chance of stopping them; we were here to slow them down. Give the army a chance to respond and our families a little time to run far and fast."

"We were a speed bump." Kitsune concluded

"I think we were a little more than that. Our families got out and we bought the army a day or two. We did what we set out to do." The kid answered

"Too bad we couldn't do more" Keitaro commented

"What more could we do?" Kit asked.

"nothing." He stated "we couldn't save our land but we gave our children a chance to live and love before it falls. And that that is an end more than worthy of my life" Both Keitaro and Kitsune looked at him like he had 4 heads and a tail. "It's something my great grandfather wrote to my great memi. He was a company commander on Okinawa.

"I'm sorry." Kitsune and Keitaro said out of habit.

"Don't be. He wasn't, and neither should we." The man

"We did our part and more, I think we can stop fighting for a cause and start fighting for ourselves. Make a real mess when those bastards try to take this house." Keitaro said. Kitsune's mouth dropped onto the floor, this was way out of character for Keitaro. Naru's death must have rattled him to the core. He didn't even care for his own life anymore. At least not beyond the most basic instincts and those were questionable right now.

"What about the cave?" the man asked

"What about it?" Keitaro asked. Mildly puzzled "the enemy's between us and the entrance."

"If we hide in there will they waste men and time digging us out?" Kitsune asked avidly, excited at the sudden possibility of survival

"Probably." Keitaro said "but it's worth a shot."

Blade grumbled mentally as he nickel and dimed his way though the bindings around his wrists. They had to use the 800 test line he complained to himself.

There were only two people nearby now, one guard, and single man working a radio. Only two, can I get away? Blade wondered. The fire in the distance had slackened to a slight purr. There were not many people left, and those that were are either in the processing of running away (smart) or trapped in the cave (unlucky and dead). If some moron decided it was worth the casualties to take it there would be no survivors. That was sure to happen with these emotion morons. Blade realized this just as he heard something come out of the radio that made him jump in surprise, voices speaking english!

The radio operator was just as surprised as Blade was but that didn't last long. Blade strained his muscles and far as he could and snapped the last threads of rope. With-in seconds he had snapped the guard's neck and drawing his knife slew the radioman. Blade sat down in front of the box. Trying to get it to speak the new forces. He was starting to hear aircraft over head, carrier planes most likely, and some limited fire .He did not know why they held back. Blade moved the tuner trying to contact the new forces. They had to be UN or NATO. Who else would help? Blade signed in relief as the two ways light came on.

"Friendly unit this is Whisky-Romeo requesting broad fire on the town of Hinata, 23.6548 by 119.3654." Blade asked recalling the GPS of the town center. It was printed on a sign by the road and in seemed useful to remember, he was very happy he did.

"Whiskey-Romeo, we have no record of your unit's existence in our computers." The female tech at the end of the line answered.

"We are not a unit we are civilian resistance in the town of Hinata." Blade paused before continuing "unnamed unit your personnel's radio's freqs are overlapping the enemy's recommend switching to secondaries."

"Roger Romeo, passing in on." After that the radio went quiet they switched radio frequencies and Blade was in the dark again. He sat beside the box. Watching around him. The radio clicked back to life after several minutes, it felt like the earth and dies and been reborn several times over.

"Romeo this is Juliet, welcome to the net, repeat request."

"Request board area fire mission the town is overrun I want it flattened now!" Bade ordered

"We are aware of the op-4's location. We are using caution around local forces." Blade stared at the mike steeling himself to admit the truth

"Local forces have been decimated; I repeat there are no local forces. Survivors have gone to ground or are in full retreat." The radio was quiet again for a few seconds

"Understood Romeo aircraft on station and missiles are away, better get to ground yourself."

" Heard and understood Juliet, do not accept any more fire missions from this Freq I can't be sure how secure it is once I'm off the air."

"Roger Romeo ordnance is inbound, splashdown two minutes." Blade didn't respond he turned of the radio and put his foot though it twice to make sure it wasn't working anymore. The he ran. Blade needed cover and fast.

20,000 ft above the island a B-52 and her pair of wing mates flew a holding pattern over the town of Hinata. They had flown in from Guam and were holding over their target because on the airplane's nature. The B-52 was a strategic bomber. Originally designed to carry nuclear weapons, so it was big, really really big. The B-52 could cause a path of destruction a mile long. So without knowing were the lines started and ended they couldn't drop their ordinance. So when the all clear came through the crews of all 3 planes were relieved to finally do their jobs. On the lead plane the bombardier snorted at the irony. His great grandfather had dropped bombs on this country. This father and grandfather fought to defend it and now he was dropping bombs on it again. The world is truly insane….

There was no warning to anyone ground side. Blade the only one who had a clue by this point had found a convent manhole and dove more or less head first into the sewer. The bombs rained down on Hinata adding their fire and steel to the mess. The B-52's pass was in many ways was the finally thumb of bass at this little dance. The enemy was to face the full weight of the US 7th fleet and the marines they carried. This was all anticlimactic though. The enemy was beaten. In its current state the force couldn't add enough firepower to the main attack to take Tokyo. Although it took several days the remains forces where pinned between to two allies and were wiped out.

Blade climbed the scattered stairs up to the Hinata Inn, an AK-74t in his hands. Behind him a mix group of survivors. These 4 were the cream of the crop from the civilians pressed into the fight. 2 young ladies and two guys one about his age and the other was couple months short of 30. Blade crested the hill and dropped his jaw as far as it would go. The Hinatasou was gone. G. O. N. E. The only thing left was random pieces on wall and a stair case to no-where. The area around the ruins was busy with helicopters taking off. And people were moving about trying to find loved ones and friends. The 7th

Fleet had found the cave during the mop up and turned the area into a camp for the survivors, as most of them were there anyway. There were some tents and a mess set up in the back of the ruins, along with a small Mash. The focus of the camp was two sheets of plywood nailed to 2 by 4's. One had messages for people the other was a running list of the dead.

The seen made him want to cry. His home was gone, his friends and company dead and all those civilians…. It was all on his shoulders. The blood on his hands. This made the destruction even harder to bear. The entire town was in ruins, everyone's home gone; the bombers had just added insult to injury on the town's remains. Tearing 3 mile long rifts of nothingness into the town.

The group Blade came with spilt as soon as they reached the camp's safety. The 3 kids going t try and find people. The older guy looked crest fallen at the sight of the survivors, guilt hammered on his face. His family was gone, depression was already visible in him. Blade wasn't too worried though, if he hadn't killed himself yet Blade doubted he ever would. What they both needed was a stiff drink to drown their sorrow in.

Surprisingly enough that was a mute problem, by some divine intervention the Hinata tea house had survived everything more or less intact after the enemy to a bite out of it. It even served pretty well as a watering hole if you ignored the sunlight beaming though bullet holes, ply wood over the big hole and the slightly damaged and mismatched furniture.

Blade walked in and sat at the bar counter. He placed his head on the counter burrowing into the elbow of his arm. He didn't care anymore; this whole damn world could run itself for a while. Right now he just wanted to drink himself into oblivion. Blade heard a click of a glass on wood and the pouring of liquid. He suddenly didn't want his drink right just then and buried deeper into his arm. Blade stiffed his body as a set of fingers ran though his hair, gently and with some nails on them, Blade relaxed if some bar girl wanted to pity the burnt out kid he wasn't going to stop her.

"War is hell isn't it?" The female voice said, the sound was familiar to Blade or maybe his brain was just screwing with him.

"Sure is, kind of used to it by now"

"Good thing you were you were, I don't think this would have worked without you." She knew him? And Blade was certain he should know that voice "right place right time." The woman continued after Blade didn't answer.

"Right place wrong time," Blade corrected her "it's the story of my life. This place was paradise." The woman kept stroking his hair. "Or at the very least within tolerance." Both were quiet for a minute.

"Blade…" Blade lifted his head to look at the girl, and stared into Shinobu's soft face. Her eyes filled with all the compassion they had before. "I'm sorry. I …was angry and I didn't know. I'm sorry... how I treated you before. I didn't see you were just as angry and bitter, and and sad. I didn't understand…." Blade launched across the counter embracing her in the tightest grip he could manage, cryingthe whole time.

"You shouldn't have to. No I'm sorry." And for a minute all was right in the world.

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That's it for now as you can tell this little tale of mine is winding down. There's only 1 or 2 more chapters left. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I should have them up in a couple of weeks. One of them anyway. If I don't you all have my permission to frag my ass.

Please R+R and thanks for reading.


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